


Death Pact

by MrTYTrack



Series: MarkYong Asylum Fic (Part 1, 2 + Oneshots) [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mental Institution, Assault, Blood and Violence, Child Neglect, Childhood Trauma, Depression, Graphic Description, Graphic Description of Corpses, Heavy Angst, Homicidal Ideations, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Murder, Past Child Abuse, Personality Disorders, Repressed Memories, Schizophrenia, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, Tags May Change, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:48:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 55
Words: 108,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23914837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrTYTrack/pseuds/MrTYTrack
Summary: An abandoned asylum full of murderers, a bully pact, and some teenage friends. What could go wrong?Life is mundane for Mark Lee. He and his friends are bullied in school for being outcasts. One day, they are dared to enter a local infamous abandoned asylum with a dark history and plenty of morbid stories to its name. Among corpses, debris, and the chilling air of a facility once filled with the mentally ill and convicted criminals, a group of outcasts live away from society, being cared for by three psychology students and their close friends. One of those outcasts is Lee Taeyong. He is somewhat a local legend. Believed to have been killed by his doctor, he was neglected and abused by his father which turned him into what society sees as a monster. Mark knows he is more than that, and thanks to him, Taeyong is at a turning point in his life, and he's ready to abandon his violent facade and listen to his heart.This story's intent is NOT to romanticize mental illnesses!Potentially triggering content.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Mark Lee/Lee Taeyong, Moon Taeil/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Series: MarkYong Asylum Fic (Part 1, 2 + Oneshots) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975399
Comments: 94
Kudos: 310





	1. Exploration

**Author's Note:**

> _Warnings in tags. Warnings will not be given in individual chapters to avoid spoilers._
> 
> This isn't _just_ about the ship. There is a storyline.  
> Rated E for violence.  
> Certain things are exaggerated in this fic. This is a work of fiction.  
>  **I do NOT intend to romanticize mental illnesses through this story. It is a bizarre plot, but my only intention is to entertain and educate.**  
>    
> **CURRENTLY RIVISING EARLIER CHAPTERS !!**
> 
> [CONCEPT FMV](https://youtu.be/ieZTskqEUvo)

"Mark Lee! Hurry up!" Lucas yelled, frustrated at his younger friend, "you're always late!"

The bedroom window flung open revealing a less than ready Mark and his irritated expression. He clicked his tongue.

"I'm almost done! Shut that huge mouth of yours and be patient!" he replied.

The elder scoffed. beside him, Jungwoo sighed and Doyoung impatiently tapped his foot on the ground.

"One day I'm going to leave him," the latter whined.

"Give him time, eventually he will realize how far behind he is and pick up the speed," said Jungwoo, hope evident in his voice.

Lucas laughed, "no."

Jungwoo pouted.

Mark stumbled out of the door with toast stuffed in his mouth and locked the door, still pushing on his shoe as he hopped down the steps.

"Come on," he said, his voice muffled by the bread occupying his mouth.

**~**

As they walked through the gates of hell, eyes landed on them. The bustling yard was overrun by people, but the second one particular group set their eyes on the friends, everyone noticed.

The 'losers' had arrived.

"Hey Markie, you still haven't gotten any friends?" asked a taller male.

Jungwoo was shoved into, causing Lucas to get on his defensive side and pull his fragile boyfriend away.

"Back off, " Lucas growled, "or I'll do something I might regret."

They laughed. Of course they would.

"Calm down, you're scaring me," one added in a mocking tone.

Jungwoo had to grab hold of Lucas before he reacted.

"Yeah that's right fag, keep your boyfriend under control," the first laughed, "so, have you got my money?"

"If you've lost it, go find it yourself," said Doyoung.

They laughed, "you think you're smart? Huh?"

Doyoung pursed his lips into a line and huffed. No matter what they tried, they wouldn't get off of their backs. They were always looking for trouble. They weren't the only victims of their antics, either.

"Can you just leave us alone?" Mark begged, "we haven't done anything to you."

"You're desperate? How about you prove yourselves to us then?" one suggested, "go to the demon's shock room in the old asylum, tonight. Go there, get proof and come back alive. Then we'll lay off the harassment, okay?"

"But—"

"We'll do it," said Lucas eagerly, "it's a deal"

He held out his hand for the bully, who laughed and hesitantly shook his hand.

They walked away, leaving Doyoung, Mark and Jungwoo staring at Lucas.

"What did you just get us into? My parents will kill me!" Mark exclaimed.

"I can't believe they're stupid enough to believe the legends," Doyoung laughed, "all of it is impossible, and demons don't exist."

"Believe what you want, Doyoung. But I'm telling you I've seen something wander around that building at night," said Jungwoo, and a shiver made its way through his body as he tensed.

"You can all thank me once we've proved ourselves strong. Meet me at the park tonight at six. Okay?" asked Lucas.

"Fine."

**~**

Carrying his bag on his back, Mark took out a torch as they edged towards the large, dilapidated building. Doyoung was scanning the perimeter nervously as Lucas removed a wooden board from one of the back windows.

He placed the board down and signaled for his friends to follow him.

"Guys, this isn't a good idea," Jungwoo muttered, "we can still go back."

"Yeah, he's right, let's just leave. Okay? We can tell the teachers—"

"Are you being serious?" asked Lucas, jumping onto the window sill of the now open window, "What the hell will they do? Give them detention?"

"Teachers will make it worse," said Mark.

It had before. The students laughed in their face, and some teachers didn't believe them at all.

"Come on, or are you gonna run home?" Lucas laughed, "We can hurry up and get this over and done with."

Mark quickly jumped into the building behind the elder, and the two hesitant friends followed behind.

"So, legend says that some demon lives in _that_ room... right?" asked Jungwoo, visibly shaking.

Doyoung hummed, "it was some guy around our age, a few years back. He was killed by his doctor during shock therapy, apparently. But it's been outlawed now. Actually, it was _supposed_ to be illegal back then, too. It wasn't that long back."

"You don't sound certain," said Lucas, turning on a torch as he scanned the area.

"Well, demons don't exist and neither do ghosts," the eldest paused, "I think."

A sudden chill overran Mark and he immediately began rapidly looking around, "something is in here."

"What?" Jungwoo gulped, his heart racing at the thought that they weren't alone.

In the distance, there were footsteps every few seconds, getting closer.

Jungwoo clung onto his boyfriend's arm and quietly sobbed in fear. Lucas stumbled over the raised ground and lost his grip on the former's arm, sending him to the floor.

He cursed quietly, wiping dust off himself, but when he turned around, Mark gasped as the other two looked in horror. Even in the dark, they could recognize that sight from anywhere. A thought crossed Jungwoo's mind. Everything was scarily similar to a horror movie—he'd watched his fair share of them with Lucas, and had his eyes clenched shut half of the time—and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to run.

"Your h-hands!" Doyoung yelled.

Mark shined a light onto the elder, revealing his bloody hands and now blood-smothered clothes. The crimson substance was far from old. There were glints under the torch light, and as Lucas moved his hands, it began to drip from him. They splashed to the ground one by one, creating a small pool of the fresh substance on the crumbled ground.

"Does it hurt...? What happened?" asked Jungwoo, hurrying forward.

"That isn't my blood," Lucas responded, looking down to the ground with wide eyes and a hitched, shaky breath.

On the floor was a pool of blood. In the center, a body lay lifeless. It's face mauled and bones smashed into what, at that moment, looked like hundreds of pieces, scattered across the floor. The flesh was visibly decomposing, and from it, an awful smell lingered in the air. It was hard to breathe. Even the thought of breathing in that air made them all sick to their stomachs.

Doyoung covered his nose and mouth to block out the stench and closed his eyes. Jungwoo, on the other hand, shrieked and began running out of the building. Nobody could blame him. They all wanted to run. With adrenaline surging through each teen's body, it came as a surprise to the aforementioned that the others didn't follow. Instead, they were frozen.

"Jungwoo!" Lucas shouted.

Doyoung looked at his two remaining friends and sighed, hesitantly, he ran after the terrified Jungwoo.

"What do we do?" asked Mark, attempting to steady his voice.

To say he was terrified would be an understatement. He scrunched up his nose and stepped back from the mutilated body. Lucas gulped as he looked up from the floor and to his hands.

"We can't exactly call the police, can we? We're trespassing!" Lucas quaked, "come on, we can still get to that room."

In a cold sweat, Mark pulled out a bottle of water and tipped it over Lucas' bloody hands. The thick crimson substance left a gentle red tint in its path.

"You're insane, completely insane," the younger whined, "let's hurry."

As they continued on through the endless hallways, Mark could feel somebody watching him. But everywhere he looked, there was nobody there. He was growing increasingly more anxious, jolting his head towards any slight sound. His heart skipped a beat as Lucas accidentally kicked a glass bottle, and it noisily rolled across the debris-coated floor until colliding with the wall.

Mark sighed in relief as it ceased to move, but his almost tranquil state ended as quickly as it began upon hearing a faint whistling in the distance. His wide eyes met Lucas', who clenched his fists in order to stop his hands from trembling. The younger ushered his eyes shut, holding his breath to hear clearly.

"Let's hide, okay?" asked Lucas quietly, "There must be somebody else here."

Mark nodded, and the elder pointed to a slightly open door. He held out his hands and hesitantly opened it, peeking inside before slowly stepping in. Lucas gestured for the former to follow him, and so he did.

Closing the door behind them, they crouched down on the floor. Mark scanned the room with his torch for reassurance and was relieved to see there were no surprise corpses staring back at him. Instead, the door was ridden by what looked like claw marks. It was as though somebody dragged their nails through the cheap paint in desperation, now leaving a barely visible sign of the past among the peeling and chipped paint.

The whistling was still audible, but the friends were distracted by another noise. The sound of shoes heavily colliding with the stone floor, and the sound of short, raspy breaths accompanying the footsteps. Mark covered his mouth to stifle any noise as the sound passed them, while Lucas stayed alert, prepared to stand up at any given moment.

"It was a terrible idea to agree to this, " Lucas sighed, "I'm sorry, this is my fault for being rash."

"Now isn't the time. But what do we do now? Go back empty-handed?" asked the younger, turning his head to his friend.

Lucas parted his lips as though to speak, but shut them again without words and harshly swallowed, "you decide. I'm up for either."

Mark thought, and in hesitation, he got to his feet, "let's go back. We can just tell them there was an ax-murderer or something in here, and that they chased us out before we could get any proof."

The elder nodded. He reached out for the door handle and turned the knob, opening it as slowly as possible. They were immediately hit by the scent of the decaying corpse once again, but after thoroughly scanning their surroundings, Lucas stepped out. They retraced their steps, carefully maneuvering around the body. As they neared the window, it seemed darker than before.

It was getting late, after all. It made sense.

But when Lucas turned the corner to the entrance, his steps grew much slower until eventually he stopped in his tracks and stared. Mark soon caught up, happy to see the end in sight. He raised an eyebrow seeing his older friend stood still, but when he looked forward, there was the window, boarded up from outside.

They were trapped.


	2. Trapped

Mark turned to Lucas with wide eyes. The latter's mouth hung open and a sigh escaped from his partially parted lips.

"Shit," he muttered, walking forward.

He pushed on the wooden board and pushed, leaning all of his weight on it, but it would not budge. Feeling defeated, he punched it and sank down to his knees.

"We're stuck in here," said Lucas from the ground, "who the hell put the board up?"

"It won't have been Jungwoo or Doyoung, they wouldn't have done that, and they were too busy running."

"It must've been whoever ran past us earlier. That bastard trapped us in here."

In frustration, Mark kicked a broken piece of brick from the floor. He frowned and muttered curses under his breath. He could tell Lucas was hiding his fear through anger, but as much as the younger wanted to break down and cry right there, his pride wasn't having it. If it hadn't been for the corpse or the noises, he wouldn't have been too worried. But the thought of being attacked in his sleep was not settling well, naturally. The eerie environment was making a constant cold chill run through his body. Every second that they stood in silence, he grew more and more tense. Each second felt like they were far longer than they were in reality. It was as though when they stepped into the asylum, time slowed around them, creating an ever-growing feeling of eternity. It was a mistake if they'd ever made one. They knew the stories. They'd heard them spoken over and over, as though they were ancient tales everybody and their grandparents knew. In reality, it was far more recent than everybody imagined. The youth were too young when it all began to understand.

"What if everybody assumes we're dead and we're stuck in here forever?" asked Mark, barely stopping to breathe as he talked.

"Mark, " said Lucas sternly, " _please_ don't make me feel worse than I already do."

"What should we do?"

"Check any other entrances around here. If we're lucky, there might be a board loose."

One by one pushing on the wooden boards covering the windows, the same whistling caught Mark's attention and he paused, looking down the hallway. The sound of a door slamming echoed throughout the building, followed by chains being dragged against the cold, stone floor. Lucas grabbed the younger's arm and pulled him so they were covered by the wall, and they peeked down the hallway. Mark didn't even want to imagine _why_ there was somebody stalking the halls with chains. It was almost as though he could hear his heartbeat as it raced. The whistle was haunting; a slow, yet unsteady tune which made the teens' blood run cold.

Watching quietly, they saw a light flicker around a distant corner. Faintly for a moment, the shadow of a person appeared on the wall. Mark's breath hitched and his muscles tensed. Behind him, Lucas responded in a similar way—terror flooding through his body. The elder was almost sure it was haunted. Or perhaps somebody was pranking them. It felt surreal, the air was cold around them, their breath clouding in the air as they scanned their surroundings with the flashlight. The whistling continued.

"Abandon mission. Let's go to that room and call Doyoung."

The elder slowly edged down the hallway, carefully stepping and observing the wall in front of him. He stayed close to the wall and made a conscious decision to avoid any excessive steps over the body, securing his foot beside the head and shifting his weight until he had passed that obstacle. The creeping was daunting, adding to their fear. Every hair on the younger's body was raised. His teeth were almost chattering, half from the cold and half from the inevitable terror which drowned out every other emotion he could've possibly felt in that moment.

With his back to the wall, Lucas pushed the door to the room open and shuffled inside. Mark quietly closed it, just in time as he heard the whistling presume, but closer. The latter inhaled shakily. Sighing in relief, they sat down on the floor and Lucas pulled out his phone. The younger set up the torch and rummaged through his bag, taking out his unfinished lunch from school.

"Isn't it a good job you don't empty your bag until the morning," said the elder, holding his phone up to his ear.

It was partially an attempt—albeit an unsuccessful one—to lighten the atmosphere. Nothing could distract them from the reality and situation at hand. Mark placed the box between them and waited for Lucas to get through to Doyoung. If he picked up, at least they could come and let them out or get help. The board was firmly wedged between the gap, obstructing their exit and making it almost impossible to remove the wood.

"Shit, it just went to voicemail," the latter sighed, "and I only have twenty percent battery left."

"Try Jungwoo," Mark suggested.

The elder nervously bit at his nails as he waited, holding the phone up. After what seemed like an extremely long minute, his arm dropped and he scrunched up his face in frustration. Jungwoo was always quite bad at answering his phone calls, but in such a vital moment when he _knew_ the others were potentially in danger, Lucas thought he'd have been eager to answer. But, somehow, he was wrong.

"He didn't answer."

They were engulfed in silence and a feeling of dread. They both feared what the night would bring, as they could still hear noises in the distance.

"I guess this is our temporary home. They might call back tomorrow, it is getting late, after all."

Mark hit his head against the wall, letting out a long, airy sigh, "This is going to be the worst night of my life."

**~**

Feeling severely uncomfortable, Mark's side was aching from lying on the stone floor. He shuffled, turning onto his back. Deeply inhaling, he pulled his jacket further over his body and re-positioned his head on his bag. He could faintly feel Lucas' arm scrape against his. The room was small and cramped, but it was better than being out in the open. At least they'd have time to react if something were to happen. The room featured no significant windows, it was just a dark box. The metal door was completely enclosing them from the outside. They had little idea what it was used for.

Mark was about to try and get back to sleep when he heard a deafening scream. The deep, shaky voice echoed throughout the building and sent shivers down the teen's spine. He clenched his eyes further shut and turned his head to the side and covered his other ear with his hand. His heart began to thump in his chest once again. The color drained from the teen's face as he felt a chill run down his spine. He was terrified. Lucas barely even shifted beside him. It made him feel alone and defenseless. What if somebody had been murdered? Was he next? Or would they kill Lucas first?

Following the first scream, there was another, but much louder. It sounded as though it was right outside the door. Lucas shuffled and grabbed the torch. He turned to Mark to see the younger had backed up against the wall and covered his ears, so it wasn't him. Either something horrible was occurring, or people were just playing with them. Whoever it was, they were succeeding at making their visitors feel helpless and horrified. Mark felt himself succumb to a tremble, and he held his breath as though the air would kill him in a second. He thought even the slightest noise would make them meet their demise. Lucas patted his arm, shifting to sit up.

"What was that?” he asked, half asleep.

The younger shrugged. Though the screaming ceased, the sound of chains dragging was right outside of their door. Lucas stood up and pushed his weight against the door in case whoever was outside tried to get in. Mark was prepared to help if it was necessary, waiting on his knees. He gulped, feeling somehow worse than before. They heard a laugh beyond the door and something scraping on the wall. What was confusing to the teens was how soft-sounding the laugh was. Did he scream, or was it somebody else? They weren't prepared to take any risks. When the sound of the chains eventually faded back in the direction it came from, they could relax some more.

A door slammed again, and then there was silence.

**~**

“Jungwoo! Slow down!” Doyoung shouted, out of breath.

He stopped to regain his composure as the younger came to a halt and turned around.

“We should report that body, ” he said, tear stains on his face, “why didn't them two come out?”

The elder turned around to look at the window, “they'll come out soon. Should we go to the cafe for now? I'll pay.”

Jungwoo hesitantly agreed, wiping his face once more. As they sat in the familiar establishment, he stared into space.

“We should wait until they leave to report the body,” said Doyoung, “those idiots need to take the blame for us going in there.”

“But we followed them,” said Jungwoo softly, “we didn't need to.”

The elder sighed, “you're right. But that was disgusting. How can they stay in there..? They're crazy.”

The building was in view from the cafe. Doyoung never realized when a man climbed out of the window, re-fixing the board. When he eventually turned, he simply saw the boarded window. His lips curved downwards, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“Did they leave?” he asked quietly.

“I didn't see them,” Jungwoo replied, “maybe they went straight home?”

“Probably. They'll reply to our texts later and we can discuss what we're going to do then.”

**~**

Lucas woke up first, and sat against the wall as he watched light flood in through the tiny barred window lining the top of the wall. It was quiet—almost too peaceful given the night prior. He looked over to Mark who was soundly asleep and decided to go and check if the window was boarded alone, and return if they could escape. Checking his phone, the dimly lit screen showed missed messages from Jungwoo and their group chat, but he didn't have any service and his phone was quickly losing charge. He turned it off, and carefully left the room as quietly as possible.

Practically hopping over the man's corpse, he ignored the disgusting scent and hurried to the window. Much to his surprise, it was no longer boarded. But as he turned to returned to return to Mark, a feeling of dread overran his body. A hand covered his eyes and muffled his shouts for help. His legs dragged against the floor as he squirmed to try and escape the strong grasp he was in—kicking and throwing his arms aimlessly. It felt like he was being dragged for an eternity. Eventually, his struggle ceased as he was thrown into a room, with several pairs of eyes staring him down as though he was some rare artifact. One, in particular, smiled chillingly at him.

On the other hand, Mark's eyes flickered open hearing something outside the door. His eyes widened seeing that Lucas was no longer in the room. As he opened the door and peeked out, a dark shadow ran past the door towards the window. He looked out as it's back was turned. It was just a normal person, with short and messy hair and worn-looking clothes. But he knew one thing for definite. It was _not_ Lucas.

Mark closed himself in the room as the shadow returned in the direction it came. Warily stepping out of the room, he made his way to the window. It was boarded. So where did Lucas disappear to?


	3. Pursuit

Mark packed up his bag, leaving no trace of his and Lucas' makeshift camp. He closed the door behind him and looked down the hallway. Surely the elder wouldn't have left him, right? He scanned the area they had yet to investigate, stepping quietly as to not bring himself to the attention of whoever else was lurking in the building. Mark had tried to convince himself that Lucas had gone to the therapy room in the legends anyway and that he wasn't in harm's way. But deep down, he was terrified. He was terrified that his friend had fallen victim to the monsters who resided inside the building, and he was terrified that he was next.

His body trembled as he placed his hands on the wall and peeked around the corner. He sighed, seeing another linear hallway. It seemed to go on forever, doors lining one wall as boarded windows lined another. Sunlight flooded in from the rooms, creating rays of light and dust. Pushed towards the boarded windows was a wheelchair, broken and visibly worn down. Mark shivered. There was a lingering creepy aura as the shifted his eyes along the hallway. The chipped paint along the walls also featured splattered crimson and filth. It took him a while to realize the lights on the damp ceiling were dimly lit, despite the establishment being closed for several years. One of them—the cause of the sights in the dark of the night—flickered slowly. When he listened closely, he could hear the bulb click after each flash, a gentle hum consistently stopping and starting as it was interrupted by the click.

Mark soon began to hear footsteps again and nervousness flooded through his body. He felt as though he was being watched. He jolted his head, turning to look behind him. There was nothing. Not even a leaf blowing down the hallway. Everything was still. He pushed his thoughts back, thinking he was simply being paranoid. He continued walking past the corner hesitantly, checking in every room so nothing—or nobody—could jump out on him or have him at a disadvantage. He began to imagine somebody coming up from behind him and dragging him away, even if he tried to push back the thoughts. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply, and steadied his breathing. Somehow, even in day, the asylum maintained it's horrifying image. The teen thought it was probably the stories lingering in the back of his mind.

Taking slow steps and staying tucked to the wall, Mark looked between the path in front of him and the area behind him. Soon plunged into an eerie silence, he could almost hear his heartbeat through his chest. The rubble beneath his feet cracked quietly, crumbling under his weight despite his attempts to step on a clear space. He was certain somebody would hear him if they were nearby. Hopefully Lucas, but he knew it would probably be somebody far more dangerous. 

The situation made him think. Just who was inside? More people, like them? Or, perhaps a group of homeless elders? No matter who it was, the screaming and footsteps had been a deal-sealer for Mark. He was never going back there once he found Lucas and they escaped. He'd probably gather the courage to just fight back against the bullies who sent them there. A good right hook to the jaw should show them not to cross their path.

In the distance, Mark heard another sound. It was like something was being scraped against the wall. He could hear whoever and whatever it was coming towards him, and he was certain they weren't friendly. Pushing open the door to one of the rooms, he hurried into it without thinking twice. Closing the door until there was a small gap, he held the handle and stayed looking out. He felt a chill overrun his body. Gripping tightly onto the handle, his muscles tensed and he could feel his heart speed up as the sound got closer, and he placed his bag on the ground in the case of a quick escape.

He felt a presence behind him and he slowly turned his head. He gulped upon seeing strands of soft, black hair. Eventually, his eyes landed on the face beside him, and before he could react, a hand covered his mouth and pulled him back. His eyes widened. He could feel the male's heart beating against his back, and his chest gently rising and falling. It wasn't as though he was being dragged away to be murdered by the surprisingly young-looking stranger. He backed up until he was against the wall and refused to get go of Mark. The man's body was cold. His skin was tainted by dirt. His messy hair was growing somewhat out of control, the strands covering his face and shielding his dark eyes from the world. His clothes were practically rags, torn and covered in filth and dry blood. The teen's own heart was racing uncontrollably. But oddly enough—he felt safe.

The latter heard as the sound from beyond the door continued past them and faded in the distance. The teen soon felt the man's grip loosen and his hand tear away from his face. Before he could turn around and start spitting questions at the man, he ran out of the room. By the time Mark processed anything and looked out of the door, he was nowhere to be seen. The teen sighed and slowly ran his hand over the place where the stranger's hand once was. He'd just been saved by a complete stranger in a place he was certain he would meet his demise. He could still feel the man's cold hands on his face, even though he was long gone. 

Picking up his bag, he decided to continue walking down the hallway, listening carefully for any signs of life. More anxiously, he looked between each side of the hallway, his eyes scanning every inch of his surroundings. His eyes set on a pile of rubble, and, much to his surprise, bones. He slowly walked closer, kneeling in front of them. There were enough to make probably two or three whole human bodies. Relieved at the lack of stench, he was more intrigued. Just what had happened in there? The stories of the asylum mentioned mistreatment was common, and many patients had died. Even in the modern world, patients were abused, neglected and even killed. Some workers—though not all—had also been killed. Some went missing, both in and out of the premises. Illegal treatments were used.

The legends said that there was a demon among the spirits of passed patients. A local, infamous tale about a young boy who was neglected by his family. Mark didn't know the details, but he knew that he was supposedly, as Doyoung had said, killed by his doctor during an illegal treatment method. Shock therapy. He didn't know how it worked, but he could tell it was probably agonizing. If it were him in that position, he'd probably rather die than withstand such pain. 

Bizarre occurrences were common. In fact, several police officers inspecting the building and construction professionals disappeared in the asylum. There was one noted case of an escapee, a middle-aged police officer who witnessed somebody going inside and followed them. He came back out, with not unharmed. He had sustained significant trauma to the head, two stab wounds and unsurprisingly, went completely insane and told his colleagues there were people living inside of the asylum. As Mark progressed onward, that idea didn't seem too far from the truth. There were definitely others inside. Whether or not they lived there was another matter. But if they were there late at night, it wouldn't surprise the teen if there was a camp of homeless people. Incredibly violent homeless people. 

He reluctantly continued looking for Lucas. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, but was dreading how to explain everything to his parents. They would definitely ask millions of questions about why he didn't come home or who sent them there. The likelihood that the conversation would be followed by an enraged call by his mother to the school complaining about bullies was extremely high. His father, on the other hand, would probably tell him to get into a physical fight with them and put them in their place. 

To Mark, that didn't seem so unacceptable, given the circumstances.

Stopping to look into every room, the teen stopped upon seeing a broken table. Broken down the center as though, like in the movies, somebody had been thrown onto it, one of it's legs were loose, hanging off. Perfect for a weapon. He set his hands around the wood and pulled, heaving as he held the much larger piece of wood up with his foot. When it eventually broke loose, Mark fell backwards. Luckily cushioned by his bag—though hearing a rather unhealthy sounding crack—he got straight up, clenching his jaw as a sharp pain ran through his back.

He gave the wood a few test swings and used it to push open the door. Back in the hallway, he was relieved to have something to protect himself. Picking up in speed, he was practically sprinting through the building, briefly checking every corner. It was evident he was nearing people. He could hear faint chattering. Unable to tell just how many people there were, he warily approached the sound. With his hand tightly clasped around the wood, he put his head up to a door and listened in. He was certain that was the room they were in. The door was visibly worn down and it's hinges rusted, and it's thin thickness made it easy to hear through.

The people inside sounded young. They were discussing his and Lucas' presence, and how they were "lurking around". Mark was uncertain what to do, with his hand hovering over the handle. If he opened the door, he'd be outnumbered for definite. But Lucas could have been inside. He was debating what to do, but time wasn't on his side. From behind, he heard running again—much like before. His eyes widened and he turned around to see a tall man charging at him and he was grabbed and thrown into the wall. The door opened as the man's fist made contact with his face and others rushed out. Among the bustle, he saw Lucas sat in the room with a bandage wrapped around his forehead. They had him. And now they had Mark, too.


	4. Meeting

Mark winced as he rubbed his face and slowly sat up. He looked beside him to see Lucas, and a feeling of relief flooded through his body as he sighed. His movement caught the attention of the others in the room. They looked normal. But the one who attacked him—the tall one—was glaring at him with hateful eyes. The teen avoided his gaze and was distracted by one of the others standing up. Out of all of them, he looked the best dressed. While the others' outfits featured dirt and even blood in some cases, he was perfectly clean and overall well put together. He rummaged though a damaged wooden box and pulled out a length of rope.

Mark's eyes averted to Lucas, who's hands were tied, and back to the man. As he grew closer, the teen felt dread. But when the man carefully lifted his hands and loosely tied him up, he felt somewhat confused. Were they in danger? Or, perhaps it was the other way around? The man sighed, placing Mark's hands back down. He sat in front of them, likely anticipating either angry shouting or questions to be thrown his way. Luckily for him, Mark had plenty of them.

"What the hell are you going to do to us?" he asked, clenching his tied fists.

"Nothing," he responded plainly, "if you listen to us and do what we say."

"I wouldn't bother. He's not stupid either. You people are crazy bastards," said Lucas.

The man sighed, "I think you'll find I'm completely sane. You're the crazy ones for coming in here even when you know what could happen."

"Where are all of the people who disappeared?"

"I'm sure you've seen a few. They came in here throwing fists and the guys didn't like that. But there's been strict rules what nobody dies in here anymore."

The tall man, who sat against the opposite wall, scoffed, "you come in here, causing trouble for us and we can't even kill you."

"What are you doing in here? Who are you and why are you attacking everyone?"

"I'm Taeil, and I'm looking after these lot. Not everybody attacks people here, don't act like we've all wronged you. You got attacked by Johnny, and I brought your friend peacefully when I found him lurking at the open window this morning," he replied.

"I'd hardly call sneaking up on me and dragging me peaceful," Lucas scoffed.

"If you're worried about being attacked, the only ones you need to be concerned about are Johnny, Yuta and Taeyong. But you'll be thrilled to know that only two of those are here right now."

"I still don't understand what your deal is," said Mark, "can't you just let us go?"

Taeil sighed, "no. How do we know you won't go and report us to the police? These guys have nowhere to go. They've been abandoned by their families and the country."

Mark looked around. Aside from Johnny who was still glaring at him, there were five others. Two of which sat hand-in-hand, with one leaning on the others' shoulder. The other three merely sat scattered around, with one of them asleep. They looked surprisingly peaceful, even with the situation.

"There is a body out there," said Lucas, "somebody will care about them and be unsure of whether they're dead or alive!"

"Won't it crush their hope to know the truth?" asked Johnny, sitting up from his place against the wall, "They're a pile of mush on the floor."

Lucas cursed under his breathe and stamped his foot down in frustration.

"And you, I only attacked you because you were walking around with that weapon. You also smell familiar. Have you been playing around with one of us and we don't know?"

He caught Taeil's attention and Mark furrowed his eyebrows. But then he remembered. The one with black hair, who saved him. He looked around, but none of them looked even remotely similar.

"This fool smells like Taeyong," Johnny continued.

"You met one?" asked Lucas.

"Somebody stopped me from screaming and ran off when he was running around."

"Oh? So to show his anger at me, he _saved_ my prey?" Johnny scoffed.

There was a laugh from the other side of the room, "he doesn't like predators like you anyway. You're so unstable you think everybody is wasting their energy on you to smash your head in."

"You little–"

Before Johnny could get up, Taeil hurried over and held him back. One of the others who was holding hands also got up, kneeling in front of the other in the argument.

"Jaehyun, do me a favor and shut up, " said Taeil, and the aforementioned's smile faded as he pursed his lips into a line.

"Where was Taeyong?" asked Jaehyun, staring at Mark.

The latter paused, "in one of the rooms, but he ran off before I could react."

The other had already began to stand up when Taeil stood in front of the door, "you're not leaving. I won't have both of you on the run at the same time."

"But you let your boyfriend run around all the time?" asked Jaehyun and the older of the two sighed.

Johnny smirked, but when his enemies gaze met his, he returned to his nonchalant expression, "you're jealous because you can't flirt for shit."

Mark and Lucas both looked at each other. Weren't they supposed to be getting threatened?

"I'll go with Jaehyun and we'll bring Taeyong back," said another.

"Then I'm coming too," added a quieter voice.

Taeil sighed, "fine. Kun, I entrust that task with you and I'll deal with our visitors."

Lucas nudged his friend with his elbow, shuffling over to him, "what do we do?"

"Let's try and negotiate–"

"Hey!" said Johnny, "Shut up!"

Taeil turned around, smiling weakly, "I guess we should get this over and done with?"

"Why are you here?" asked Johnny.

"I already told you we were dared," Lucas replied.

"Listen, we won't tell anybody. I promise. If we do, come and kill us."

Lucas' eyes shot over to Mark. Johnny smirked.

"That's more like it. Taeil, agree with them."

The eldest sighed, "that alone isn't worth trust. I'm trying to stop them killing, not encourage it."

"That will never work," said a voice from the other side of the room, from the once asleep man, "some of us are born killers. Johnny, however, is just a paranoid lamb."

Mark deducted that he was Yuta, the other violent one. The latter soon shuffled over to the only other remaining at that side of the room. Taeil stared in their direction.

"I think I'm missing something here. Why are you in here?" asked the younger teen.

"You know what this is, don't you?" asked the eldest.

"An asylum," Lucas replied, "that means you _are_ crazy."

"The reformed Mental Health Act doesn't work in the patients' favor. Most of these guys are either avoiding admission to a ward, have escaped it or survived it. Johnny ran away before he could lose his freedom. Jaehyun and Taeyong survived, the former was abandoned. Yuta escaped before he could be transferred and Ten, who went with Kun, luckily never belonged in the system. "

"So what about you?" asked Lucas.

"I'm studying psychology alongside Kun and Sicheng," Taeil explained, "I met Johnny and he brought me here."

Though his older friend scoffed, Mark was more amazed. Working against the system, they were living under the radar – though in unsavory conditions.

"So, the legends?" he asked.

"Partially true. Taeyong survived his therapy, just before it was outlawed. In secret they continued for a while, but he killed his doctor and continued living here. He's the 'demon' you all talk of," Taeil replied, "but, he hasn't taken a life since. He focuses on living. I'm almost certain he's outside in the courtyard right now enjoying the overgrown garden. He's different, yes, but he isn't a monster. He grew up looking after himself, alone. He spent more time outside with animals than he did with his neglectful parents."  
The younger teen's curiosity was caught. He was anticipating seeing the one who saved him again, even if he was probably as dangerous as the others. Stuck in his thoughts, he began to ignore the conversations occurring around him. He was brought back into reality by the door opening. Jaehyun walked in first, followed by the same familiar black-haired man. As the others walked in, Taeyong lay down on the floor. His back to everyone, the room turned quiet, and there was an unusual peace.

"I guess you'll both be hungry?" asked Taeil, turning back around.


	5. Untamed

"What should we do?" asked Taeil, with his back to their unexpected visitors.

"We can't really keep them here," Kun replied.

While hitting a rock against the floor, Johnny looked up, "kill them."

"No," the eldest said sternly, "we've already discussed this."

"I'd say keep them alive and well. They intrigue me," said Yuta, with his arms wrapped around Sicheng, "why would you come here, aware of the risks, just because somebody told you to?"

"To get them stop harassing us."

"I don't quite understand why they got you to come here, of all places," said Taeil.

"They asked us to take a photo of the room in the legends," Mark replied, "but honestly, I don't think it's worth risking your home. If that picture gets out, more will try to come in. They'll want to show off that they've been here. That will be troubling for you."

"Good, so you understand," said Kun, "but does your friend here?"

"I just want you to let us leave. We have families who will be worried about us, and friends too."

"There were more of them on the first day, I saw two leave from the third floor window," said Johnny.

"I thought I told you to stop going there?"

The patient held his hands up defensively, "I heard talking, I was investigating."

"I think we can let them go, but only if you believe they won't go running their mouths to the press," Sicheng finalized.

Taeil hummed, "I can't control these guys' actions at all time. If somebody comes in here, they might die, and that will be on you. Do you want to live with that guilt?"

"Fine. I'll stay quiet," said Lucas.

"Finally, an agreement," Kun clapped.

"Then it's been decided. You will be allowed to leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" the older of the two friends whined.

"I want to further observe you. Plus, it's another day of school you get to miss, isn't it?"

"Come on, let's just accept that," said Mark.

"You just don't wan't to go to school," Lucas scoffed, "can you at least take these off us?"

He lifted his still tied hands and Taeil nodded, beginning to undo them. With Mark's hands free, he pushed himself up and his gaze averted to Taeyong, who was still lying facing the wall. On his side, he was practically curled up in a ball. Not that the teen noticed, but Jaehyun was glaring at him.

"Can I go and look around?" asked the younger teen.

Taeil raised an eyebrow, "haven't you seen enough?"

"Well, I just get really bored sitting around doing nothing."

"Fine. Be back before sunset, or I'll send Johnny after you."

"What about me?" asked Lucas.

The eldest shook his head, "I don't trust you."

The former huffed and hit his head on the wall, causing Johnny to scoff.

"Do you want put in confinement? Stop whacking your head."

"I'm not like you," Lucas retorted.

Sighing, Mark turned around before he reached the door, "don't annoy them."

His friend grimaced, but he turned away. He closed the door and headed in he direction he hadn't been down. His eyes scanned the hallway. It was much cleaner than all other parts. Rooms with functioning, clean doors and windows had locks on the outside. Inside, there were piles of blankets—one or two per room, with either a small torch or even a light fitted on the wall with its own regenerative source.

Eventually, at the end of the hallway, there was a staircase going up. But Mark's attention was taken by the door leading outside beside it. It led out to a rather large outdoor area contained by each of the buildings, creating a square. He figured that this was the area Taeil was talking about Taeyong often visiting. There was a clear path of flattened grass and plants leading through the center. Just as he was about to step forward, he briskly turned around to see Taeyong walk past him. He carefully stepped between plants, making his way across the yard. 

He stood still as he watched him walk. Somehow, he couldn't believe that Taeil had told him he was one of the ones he had to worry about being dangerous. Mark eventually was drawn to follow the patient, looking around in the place that he came to a stop. He observed as Taeyong climbed up onto a tree and lay down across one of the thicker branches, staring up between the trees to the quickly disappearing light in the sky. He seemed rather relaxed, given the situation, the teen would expect otherwise. 

"Why did you help me?" asked the teen, looking up at the man lying on the branch.

"You were in danger."

"But... You don't know me, and I'm in your home."

He looked down at Mark, "this isn't my home. This is a cage. They keep me inside and stop me from living."

"They don't let you go outside?"

"No. They're scared I'll do something impulsive."

Mark looked down at the grass, "what's wrong with you? Not to be rude— I'm just curious. You don't seem dangerous."

"Nothing."

"Then... why—"

"They don't like how I live my life. My parents left me to survive on my own, and then were surprised when I turned out like this."

Mark was looking around when he noticed a pile of upturned soil. He walked closer, jumping when he heard Taeyong shoot up and the branches ruffle. He was expecting to be attacked, but the elder just looked at him with wide eyes. 

"Don't move," he said, looking around, "you can't tell them."

"You're trying to escape like this?" asked Mark, looking at the hole which was right beside the wall, barely going underneath, "you know this would collapse on you, right?"

"What?"

"You're much bigger than a burrowing animal. The buildings are huge. That would take ages to dig."

The elder frowned, jumping from the tree.

"Is there not a fence to dig under?"

Taeyong shook his head, "the door is locked to the fenced yard."

"Did you do this with your hands?" asked Mark, reaching out for the elder's larger hands.

They were clean, for the most part. As clean as they could be for somebody who was outside climbing on trees.

"I used sticks."

"That would take even longer," the teen sighed, "if you were to escape, what would you do?"

The patient thought as his hands were freed from the others' grasp. He played with a thread hanging from his sleeve, "visit a river."

"That's all?"

"I'd have to come back. I can't survive alone, I do understand that."

"Well, I'm leaving tomorrow. But, if I come back, I could convince them to let you go outside for a day. Sounds good?"

Taeyong nodded vigorously.


	6. Extraction

"Are you sure about this?" asked Doyoung, holding a torch in his shaky grasp.

The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains long ago, and the dilapidated building was in darkness once again. Jungwoo clung onto his friend's arm, gulping roughly before nodding, "I can't sleep knowing Lucas is missing..."

Hesitantly, the older friend freed himself from the grasp and secured his hands on the wooden board. Gently pulling it, brick crumbled around it as it scraped across shattered glass. He glanced down the eerie hallway, eyes scanning over to the securely boarded main door. Dim light seeped through the cracks surrounding the large arched door. Turning the torch on, Doyoung handed it to Jungwoo who shone it inside as the former climbed inside. Holding his arms out for the younger to grip onto, he held onto him as he jumped down onto the debris-coated floor beneath.

Taking slow steps, the pair made their way toward the point they had returned outside, leaving their friends behind. The guilt was overwhelming. Jungwoo thought the four of them would have managed together, but instead, he left in fear. The bullies—Myungdae and Hwan—joked about their absence. They had no hesitation, remarking how the others could have been tortured to death inside. They didn't have their proof, and without Lucas to warn them away, they had remained persistent and though Doyoung had tried to defend them, they simply laughed in his face. It took all of his patience to _not_ start shouting at them.

Avoiding the body sprawled on the floor emitting an even more repulsive scent than the day before, Jungwoo lifted his hand over his mouth and used his other to tap Doyoung to get his attention. Moving over to one of the side rooms, he pushed open the door and began to throw up. The elder scrunched up his nose and looked away. He didn't blame the younger for his reaction, as he would probably have reacted in a similar manner if he hadn't fixed his eyes onto the wall.

"That's disgusting," he whispered, "hurry up."

Wiping his mouth, Jungwoo turned around, "I didn't ask for that to happen. Come on, we need to get away from that body."

"This is stupid."

"They're your friends, and Lucas is my boyfriend. We need to find them."

"I know. It's just... Dangerous."

"That didn't stop us the first time."

"Let's just be quick, okay? We're missing school for this, our parents will go mad when they find out."

~

Mark soon found himself following Taeyong through the building. The elder was a lot calmer and friendly than he first anticipated. He ran with a small hop in his step, looking back to make sure he was still accompanied by the teenager. He soon began to cheerfully whistle, and the younger immediately recognized that he was the one they had heard on their way in. Taeyong suddenly stopped running, reversing back to look through a doorway. The teen raised an eyebrow, nervously catching up to the patient. A horrible feeling of dread filled his body, his nerves growing. He didn't know what to expect.

"What is it?" asked Mark, peeking inside.

He could recognize that same scent from anywhere, even if it was far less pungent. On the floor was a white doctor's gown—or, half white, half-dried blood—with a thin and half-decayed body wearing it, looking almost . The flesh hugged the skeleton tightly, showing almost every individual bone. The flesh itself had decayed into a dark color. Some parts of the body even showed proof of something having feasted upon it. The teen looked at Taeyong's nonchalant expression, his dark eyes staring down at the body. He looked up after a moment, grinning.

"Shall we continue?" he asked.

Mark furrowed his eyebrows. Did he show him that on purpose? Why? He nodded uncertainly. It must have been the psychiatrist that was supposed to be treating him, when he was alive, of course. It was almost as if the patient was showing off his work—and the idea made the teen shiver—like he was a cat who returned home to show his owner his catch from a hunt. With a look of pride, the elder turned away.

Mark continued following Taeyong again, watching as the elder's gaze followed the wall. Mark was surprised when he stopped again. He stood completely still, as though he was listening for something. The younger was confused. He couldn't hear anything. Only the wind outside of the building could be heard, but the patient's furrowed eyebrows told him that he was hearing much more than him. His body seemed to tense, and his eyes were set on the hallway in front of him. Mark observed as Taeyong's nose twitched and he moved his head slightly. Completely clueless, the teen was more intrigued about his response to his environment than what he was actually responding to. When the elder leaned down and picked up a shard of shattered glass from the floor, Mark's eyes widened. He hid it in his grasp and waited.

"What are you—"

Taeyong placed his hand over the teen's mouth and looked at him with a different expression than he was used to. The cold gaze looking back at him was haunting. Wide, dark eyes that Mark felt could read right into his soul, and an empty expression to accompany them. The teen inhaled deeply. His lips were pressed into a line, and before the elder turned away, he grinned reassuringly. That's when the teen's gaze shifted down the hallway, and he saw Jungwoo and Doyoung talking among themselves and looking around at their surroundings.

The latter stopped where he was and looked at them, tapping his younger friend's arm to get his attention.

"Mark..?" he asked, "Who is this?"

The patient stood with his blank stare on them, and when they began to step closer, he pulled out the glass and held it out towards them, "get out."

"Taeyong, don't!" said Mark as the elder edged forward.

It was evident that the others had caught onto an unfamiliar presence in the building. Jaehyun and Yuta appeared behind the teen, with the latter leaning against the wall grinning, "the beast is loose."

Mark looked back at them and suddenly Taeil and Kun sprinted around the corner. The eldest sighed before approaching Taeyong, but he turned around and started waving the glass at him too. Holding his hands up defensively, Taeil slowly reached for the patient.

"Calm down, you're safe," he said quietly, "they won't hurt you."

He put his hand on Taeyong's arm and the latter looked up at him with a softened gaze. He dropped the glass onto the floor, his panic subsiding. Mark hurried over to Jungwoo and Doyoung, somewhat relieved to see them. They were shaken, naturally, staring at their friend with wide eyes.

"Where's Lucas?" asked Jungwoo, his voice faltered, fear evident.

"He's alright."

The youngest teens only concern was what would happen next. With an extra two, they would be lectured all over again. Taeil moved Taeyong aside, fussing about the slightest cut on the patient's hand. Kun walked over to the three friends and led them into the room where Lucas, Johnny and Ten remained.

Unsurprisingly, the tall patient was harassing their friend. The latter jumped up when he saw Jungwoo and ran over, hugging him tightly, "I've missed you."

Mark rolled his eyes and Johnny mocked them. The four friends conversed quietly, sat in the corner, but when the door opened again and Taeyong was led inside with Taeil holding his arm, the room fell silent.

"If you're waiting for him to apologize that won't happen," said Johnny, slouching down against the wall, "he's just a bunch of flesh and bones, no soul."

"Be quiet," said their eldest caretaker.

The aforementioned walked over to their invaders once Taeyong was lying down on the floor.

"I'll make this quick, because you're starting to annoy me. Get out of here and don't come back," he warned, "some of you might think this is cool, but if you make one wrong move your life could be snatched away. I assume you wouldn't like that."

Taeil made eye contact with Mark as he spoke, and the latter looked away, avoiding his gaze.

"It is vital that you stay quiet," he continued, "or things will get... violent in here. Understand?"


	7. Return

Mark huffed as he sat at his desk. It had been roughly a month since he and the others had visited the asylum, and he had been plagued with recurring thoughts about Taeyong. It was no secret that the elder intrigued him. He had been using all of his restraint to not return to the building, being worried about how Taeil would react to him. He realized that, to their caretakers, Mark's interest in the patients must have been somewhat troublesome. While he was there, it was a chaos after chaos. He wasn't prepared to risk their home, or, even worse, their lives. The patients were like ticking bombs, waiting to explode. Taeil, Kun and Sicheng were playing a dangerous game, and their lives were practically hanging by a thin thread.

But he had told Taeyong he would try and get him outside, and he wasn't the type to go back on his promises. Part of him feared the elder—after the events of their last day—and wanted to stay away. Maybe he could live the rest of his life forgetting the memories within the asylum. He had saw countless bodies, had been attacked by a psychiatric patient and witnessed his friends be threatened with glass. Needless to say, those occurrences acted as a deterrent for him. But something was pulling him in, like a fish on bait. He had lost count of the days he had stood across the road from the building contemplating going inside. Every time, he turned away. The odd few times, he'd felt watched.

Mark couldn't explain what he was feeling. Running around the halls with Taeyong had gave him a thrill. Despite the latter's questionable personality, he was addicting to be around. His outlook on life was unsurprising for somebody who lived his life in the shadows. He wanted to be free. He wanted to run through the woodland, dodging trees and jumping over streams. He wanted to take in the clean air, and the scent of the grassland, feeling the cool wind against him. Mark wanted to give him those experiences. He wanted to show him how life should be, and that he doesn't need to feel like a caged animal. He can run free, without worrying if the nearest being to him was going to harm him.

But the uncertainty was keeping him away. Taeyong's personality had changed drastically with the flip of a switch inside his head. His calm, joyful personality had disappeared. His eyes were dark and cold. His senses were heightened and he became hostile. Armed with glass, he was going to attack. The same Taeyong who told Mark how he wanted to escape and visit a river became a monster, ready to kill. The latter's friends were on the receiving end, and it terrified them all. He didn't know if he could trust his own life with somebody who could turn on him at any given moment.

Mark was brought out of his thoughts when Lucas slammed his hand down on his table, causing the former to jump. "Are you coming? Don't just sit gawking, the bell went a few minutes ago."

The younger stood up, packing his bag. "Sorry."

"Are you alright?" asked Doyoung, and Mark nodded.

"Yeah, I was just... thinking."

Lucas had a look of surprise on his face. "What happened with Mark? Who is this?"

The aforementioned chuckled, putting on his backpack. It was the end of the school day, so they would walk home together. Jungwoo frequently went home with Lucas, and the other two just went straight home. They made their way to the exit, and weren't surprised to see Myungdae and Hwan stood waiting. Mark groaned. He was hoping for a peaceful walk home. They attempted to walk past without catching their attention, but ultimately failed, and the youngest friend felt an arm weigh down his shoulder.

"You wouldn't happen to have some money on you, would you Markie?" asked Myungdae with a grin on his face.

Mark looked at him with a scowl, squirming out of the bully's grasp. "No, not for you."

Myungdae clicked his tongue and Hwan had a look of disbelief. Their eyes met, glaring at each other, before the former punched Mark in the stomach.

"Hey!" Lucas exclaimed, "Don't touch him."

The younger friend was leaning over, cursing under his breath in pain. "You're pathetic, preying on people."

Doyoung drew a sharp breath as Myungdae scoffed, stepping closer to Mark. The younger stood himself up properly, pushing the bully back much gentler than he was intending. Hesitating as the others watched, Mark clenched his fist as Myungdae waited, expecting him to give in. His heart was racing. He wasn't the type to fight. But he didn't want to be pushed around, especially after what they had put them through. He clenched his eyes shut and inhaled, before swinging his fist at the bully's face. He took them all by surprise.

Myungdae immediately responding, punching him back and kicking him onto the floor. Mark thought he would've backed off, but apparently it wasn't going to be that easy. As the bully grabbed his shirt and was about to punch him again, with Mark getting up from the dust-covered floor, Lucas pushed him away and helped his friend up. The youngest sighed, seeing Doyoung give the bullies some money. The two laughed at the sight, and Hwan spat over in Mark's direction before they moved on.

"Thanks for wasting my efforts," the youngest whined.

"You were going to get your ass beat, we saved you," said Lucas.

Jungwoo sighed. "But we did give in. They'll be back."

Mark looked down. Even though he had fought back, nothing would change. They'd probably become even more of a laughing stock for them. He kicked a stone and sighed, bringing up his hand to his lip, and wiping it to see blood smeared on his hand. His parents would probably ask questions. He followed behind his friends miserably as they walked away from the school. Soon enough, they had parted with Lucas and Jungwoo. Doyoung sighed at Mark and shook his head.

"Don't do that to yourself. They'll be after you now, and you know that."

"Well somebody needs to take it, don't they?"

With their point of separation approaching, the elder patted Mark's shoulder reassuringly. "They'll stop eventually."

"I doubt it."

"See you tomorrow," said Doyoung, and the younger nodded, replying plainly.

With his eyes on the sidewalk, Mark made his way home. He always walked the same way, passing the asylum. The eerie building stood out, barely holding itself up. Even if somebody didn't know the legends, they would know that some bad things happened there. The teen found himself stopping again, looking at the building. He remembered Taeyong, and how he sounded so excited hearing that Mark would help him see the outside. Then, the latter soon found himself crossing over the road, heading down the side of the building. The board was still wedged into the missing window's frame. Pulling at the bottom corner, he removed it and placed it aside.

He pulled himself up onto the makeshift entrance and climbed inside, almost falling in the process. This time, he replaced the board. Though with a struggle, he managed to block himself inside. It was mostly to stop others entering, or not give his presence away too much. He felt somewhat relieved to step back into the hallway, looking down the linear pathway of doors on one side and boarded windows on the other. The body was nowhere to he seen, but he did see fresh blood coating a small section of the hall. The dust floating in the air caused him to cough, but he continued on anyway.

At first, he thought nothing of it. But as he progressed further into the building, he began to notice the abnormal amount of blood around the building. He was starting to fear what had happened while he was gone. For all he knew, the patients could've all turned on their caretakers and they could be shoved in a room, dead. Or, even worse, they could have all turned and killed each other. He shivered, picking up in speed. The halls were quiet. Almost too quiet, for a building inhabiting five—and sometimes eight—people. He was approaching the large room in which he and Lucas had been in, along with all the others when he heard quiet talking. There were quiet cries coming from within the room and he heard a deep voice, whom he recognized as Jaehyun, comforting someone. Down the hallway, Mark heard occasional thuds.

Peeking through the open door, he saw the room was mostly empty. Ten was sat crying in the corner, and Jaehyun was beside him. They were the only ones inside. The teen furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and looked down the hallway which led to the outdoors area. He began to walk down, but paused, seeing one of the doors that were once open, closed. There was a light inside the room, and it illuminated the hallway through the bars on the door. He didn't want to be caught by whoever was inside. Whoever it was was breathing quietly, throwing something at the metal door. When it collided with it, there was a short pause before it soon hit once again.

Looking further, another door was shut. But that one, of all of them, had a blood of dried blood outside of it. The knob with thinly coated by the same crimson substance. He knew he shouldn't risk getting caught with the caretaker's absence, but he was drawn in, and looked through the bars. The same familiar black haired patient was lying on the floor. Mark could faintly see the blood on his clothes, making the teen wonder just what had gone on. He was about to turn away and leave when he saw Yuta stood behind him. He hadn't heard him approaching, nor did the elder make his presence known. He smiled chillingly, and Mark took note of his grazed face and burst lip.

"What are you doing back?" he asked, "Taeil won't be happy you've returned."

"I—I was just... I don't know," he sighed.

Yuta furrowed his eyebrows, "what happened to you?"

"That's what I should be asking."

"I asked first."

Mark sighed, "I tried to fight back against the people who sent us here."

Yuta chuckled, shaking his head. "My story is more exciting. Some things kicked off here a few days ago," he began, "Johnny and Taeyong got into a huge fight, and I stepped in. I stopped them, and got praised."

"Wait... A fight? Why?"

"Just normal things," the Japanese replied, "Taeyong has been acting off for a while, and they're always at each other's throats. Johnny stole something... I can't remember what, and stabbed him."

Mark's eyes widened. The elder kicked the door to the room and waited. He sighed, not gaining a response and peered through the bars.

"Are you dead?" he asked, laughing.

The teen was worried. Not only was Taeyong unresponsive, and Johnny must have been the other one locked away, but Yuta could easily attack him if he wanted to. He had no idea when the others would be back, but he assumed it wouldn't be too soon. They were in university, after all.

Yuta furrowed his eyebrows as he kicked on the door once more, "I think he's dead."

"I'm not dead. Stop annoying me."

Mark was relieved, but he was taken aback when he heard a thud behind them. He turned to see Johnny with his head against the bars of the other door. Yuta scoffed and threw a stone from the ground in his direction. The teen could feel the tension between the patients. It seemed obvious that they _hated_ each other with a burning passion, thanks to their demeanors. The eldest patient scowled, his hands wrapped around the bars on the door.

"Get your face back in that damn cage," he said.

"You're only acting like this because you're soft for Sicheng's happiness that you haven't killed anyone in over a month."

The younger patient laughed, "and you think you can get away with everything because you have Taeil as your toy."

"He's not a toy," Johnny snapped.

Yuta nodded, "sure."

"He doesn't love you, he _pities_ you," said Taeyong, still lying on the floor.

Mark's gaze was alternating between the two rooms as they proceeded to argue, and soon the door to the main room opened and Jaehyun stormed out. He raised an eyebrow in curiousity.

"Can you please shut up?" he asked, "I'm trying to reassure Ten that we haven't been abandoned."

"Why would you have been?" asked Mark.

"They haven't been back for two days."


	8. Confined

"If they haven't been back, why are you still here? Can't you leave?" asked Mark.

"Well, some of us don't have that option," said Taeyong.

Mark heard him shuffle, and eventually, his dark eyes peered through the metal bars. Taeyong smiled at him, but the teen looked away.

"They will come back. They can't leave us here," said Jaehyun, "they know that these guys will tear each other apart. Not to mention, we don't have any food."

"You trust them too much," spoke a quiet voice from behind him, and Ten looked out of the door with his tear-stained face, "I've seen people leave before. They don't come back."

"They might just have been held up, I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Ten scoffed, "you don't know them like we do. They're fed up of Johnny and Taeyong's antics."

"Oh, so this is our fault? Maybe they hate how clingy you are!" the current eldest exclaimed.

"This isn't the time to argue," Yuta whined, "I have an idea."

He walked over to Jaehyun and leaned in close to his ear, shielding his mouth from Mark, he muttered quietly. The younger of the two patients nodded and hummed in understanding. The teen just furrowed his eyebrows and waited. He heard Taeyong snicker beside him but kept his attention on the others. They eventually stopped, and Yuta turned to Mark.

"Will you help us?" he asked, "This might be the only way to get them back."

He looked around at all the patients. Ten's hopeful expression was almost enough in itself for him to agree, and he didn't want to let them down. After all, they would die—if they didn't kill each other first—and he certainly couldn't take over the job of three people who actually know what they're doing.

"Fine," he said.

Yuta grinned to Jaehyun, "I'll get the key."

"K-Key?" asked Mark, that wasn't a good idea at all.

Oh no.

Johnny's interest was caught and he shook the bars to the door, "let me out, I won't do anything."

Taeyong stayed looking out of his room nonchalantly as Yuta disappeared down the hallway. If he was going to let them out, nothing good would happen from that. He began to regret his response, fearing what would happen. What if they killed him as a way to force the others to return?

When he came back, he stood before the door to Johnny's room. The elder began to practically beg him to open the door, but the Japanese merely stood still grinning. He shook his head and began to approach Taeyong's door, ignoring Johnny's shouting. The patient behind the locked door simply waited as Yuta put the key in the lock and turned it, pulling the door open.

"Stay in the corner and don't move," he said, and Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows, "now."

He obliged, though he didn't want to, and Jaehyun approached Yuta and they nodded at each other. Mark stepped back, thinking they maybe wanted him to move away as they look Taeyong out, but when he felt a strong grip on his arm and looked to see the Japanese patient smiling at him, he began to panic. Jaehyun grabbed his other arm and despite his struggles, they pushed him into the small room. Taeyong moved out of the way when Mark began to fall in his direction before the teen shot up as Yuta shut the door.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "Let me out!"

He heard Johnny laugh from down the hallway, "I like this plan. Now let me out."

"Oh no," said Yuta, sarcastically, "Taeyong is going to kill our trespasser. We must go outside and find Sicheng."

"Do you think they'll fall for it?" asked Jaehyun, his voice growing further and further away.

"If we tell them about when he acted up, they'll believe it."

"You've got to be kidding me," said Johnny from down the hallway, "let me come!"

Silence.

Mark turned around and jumped a little, seeing Taeyong staring at him. To save himself from the judging glare, he turned to the door and kicked it, before proceeding to shake the bars.

"I wouldn't bother," said the elder, "you're not going anywhere."

"W-What?"

"The door is locked."

"Oh, right..."

Mark gulped, sitting down on the cold, dirty floor. Taeyong soon followed, keeping his distance. It was chilling, the blank stare that the elder kept fixated on the wall. The uneasy lack of conversation was really bringing out the sound of water dripping onto the stone floor beyond the door, and the occasional creaking from upstairs. Down the hallway, Johnny hummed quietly—a slow and unsettling tune—and tapped on the metal door with a stone.

Mark frequently found himself staring off into space before he remembered exactly where he was, trapped in a small room with the same man who held some glass up to his best friends, yet it seemed different. He couldn't imagine what it was like for them, always being cooped up. He had no idea how long he'd be in there.

Taeyong occasionally began to mutter quietly to himself, taking the teen by surprise. He seemed nonchalant and certainly didn't seem to acknowledge Mark's existence. The latter looked away from him, to stop himself from staring. He eventually managed to deduct that the patient was counting. There were often large pauses between each number, and the spacing seemed sporadic. Mark exhaled and turned around.

"What are you counting?"

"Fifteen," the elder continued, louder than before.

The teen furrowed his eyebrows, and his body tensed for seemingly no reason. He just felt uncomfortable.

"Sixteen."

Mark sighed, becoming impatient, "what is it?"

"I'm counting every nervous action you make."

They made eye contact and a scoff escaped the teen's lips, "I'm not nervous."

"You've been picking at your fingers since you sat down," Taeyong noted, smirking.

Mark looked at his hands. He never noticed. He separated them and put both hands under his legs.

"You're observant."

The elder titled his head slightly. "Why are you scared of me?"

"Y-you-"

"I what?" he asked, his expressions softened as though he was expecting something negative.

"I'm not, really," said Mark, "but I didn't like the Taeyong that came out the last time I was here."

The patient hummed, "that's my fight mode."

"You felt intimidated by my friends?"

"I like slow introductions. I observe everybody until I decide whether I can trust them. They came running in here and I could sense their fear."

"So you were going to attack them... because they were scared?" asked Mark, suddenly feeling more at risk.

Taeyong's eyes averted from the wall and met the teen's, "fear makes people do foolish things."

"I guess..." said the younger, "But technically I just came in here without warning, and you protected me. How am I different?"

"Well...I don't know. But I didn't want to hurt you."

Mark was certainly confused, but he accepted that as a response. He leaned his head against the wall and sighed.

"Are you in here often?" he asked, "It's cramped."

"I like small places."

"Why? Isn't that the opposite of most people?"

Taeyong smiled, nodding, "there aren't as many directions to be attacked from in small spaces. I feel more comfortable here, or high up."

"You don't need to answer this," said Mark, "but...what happened in your youth?"

The patient's eyes widened and he slouched back. "Things. Just some things that shouldn't have happened."

"You don't want to talk about it?"

He shook his head vigorously.

"Okay, that's alright."

Taeyong turned his head. "Do you think I'm weird?"

"No! Why would you think that?"

"Everybody else does. Taeil and the others, the doctors and my parents."

"You're not weird, Taeyong. You're different," Mark said sternly.

He had no idea why he was trying so hard with the patient. He just wanted to get out of there and never return, but the latter was growing on him. The innocent, calm side, at least. He found it endearing how the elder lay down on his side after getting his reassurance, almost curled into a ball in the corner of the room. His chest gently rising and falling, he tucked his arms closely up to his face. Mark thought it was hardly believable that the man in front of him was a killer.

• • •

Mark clenched his eyes further shut as he heard whimpering among the sound of the rough wind outside of the walls, he wasn't awake enough to process anything going on. He was unsure if he was dreaming. He rolled onto his back and was taken aback by not only the cold floor but also the trembling body making contact with his arm. He brought his hand up to his face, rubbing his eyes before he forced himself to sit up and reached out for the torch pushed against the wall with his things.

He fumbled to find the button and pushed it down, only to close his eyes from the change in brightness. He slowly managed to open his eyes and pointed the torch at the body beside him, scanning Taeyong momentarily. The elder was sweating profusely, his eyes were still closed and his fists were balled tight enough that the teen wondered if he'd broken through the skin. Yawning, Mark set his hand on the patient's arm and gently shook him, and he felt him tense in his grasp. Sure, he'd seen his friends have nightmares during sleepovers, but there was a lingering fear as he watched the sight before him.

He shook Taeyong more intensely, and quietly whispered his name. Getting onto his knees and dropping the torch, without even thinking, Mark pulled the elder's fist from being closed and slipped his hand into his, intertwining their fingers and began to caress Taeyong's hand with his thumb. With his free hand, he continued to shake the patient.

“Taeyong...” he spoke quietly, “Wake up, it's alright.”

His eyes began to open and he slowly became aware of his surroundings. Mark felt the elder's hand twitch in his grasp and tighten, and he stopped shaking Taeyong. Instead, he helped him sit up against the wall. Dark eyes stared back at the teen's concerned gaze, but the patient soon looked away.

“Are you alright?” asked Mark.

Taeyong nodded, still trembling, “I am now.”

The teen realized that they were holding hands and tore away his own, “sorry, I didn't do that on purpose.”

The elder pushed himself up and moved closer to Mark, much to the latter's confusion.

“Can I?” he asked, settling beside the teen.

“S-sure?”

Taeyong returned to lying down on the floor, that time resting his head on an incredibly taken aback Mark's thigh. The latter hesitantly moved his hand over to the elder's black hair and ran his hand through the strands. Not that the teen could see, the patient grinned and nuzzled his face down. Mark was still processing what was happening, but he liked it. Taeyong seemed to calm down and he felt accomplished. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.


	9. Revelation

Mark awoke feeling an uncomfortable pain in his neck. With his head hanging forward, he groaned and placed it back against the wall. He could still feel Taeyong's head against his leg, and the elder had barely even moved throughout the night. The teen refused to open his eyes, even though he realized he would be missing school again. His parents would _actually_ kill him this time round. His mother had been distraught when he came back and told her he got stuck inside of an abandoned building—though he never stated exactly which—and had clearly told him to never go back. His father had shouted because he had ignored all of their calls, but soon returned to his normal, joyous self.

The teen was going to try and fall back asleep but he heard somebody clear their throat from the door. Relieved that they were back, he opened his eyes to see Taeil with his arms crossed and Kun with his jaw hung open in the doorway. Behind them, Jaehyun looked agitated while Yuta was laughing to himself. Mark shook Taeyong rather aggressively and the latter woke up, rubbing his eyes and stretching his legs before he sat up and looked at the men in the doorway with an indifferent expression. 

"I thought you said that he was dead?" asked Taeil.

"What else was I supposed to say?" Yuta replied, "'Oh, by the way, we locked the invader inside of Taeyong's room and they might cuddle?'"

The eldest caretaker sighed, yet Kun chuckled to himself, "this is somehow better."

"No it isn't," said Taeil, walking into the room and grabbing Mark's arm, "when I told you to not come back, I meant it."

The eldest began to drag the teen out of the room, but Taeyong pushed him over and defensively stood in front of the younger. Taeil's eyes widened. The patient was crouching down, with his arms out to stop him from getting to Mark. The bystanders at the door were equally as surprised.

"What are you doing?" asked Taeil, taken aback.

He attempted to move forward and Taeyong's eyebrows furrowed and followed the elder as he moved. If he came too close, the patient would tense up and, at one point, as a warning, he swiped his hand at Taeil and the latter moved away. Mark's heart was beating excessively as he sat behind. He reached out for Taeyong, despite Kun catching onto his actions and gesturing at him to stop. He set his hand down on the elder's shoulder and he turned around.

They expected him to attack. He was mindless when he was angry.

"You don't need to protect me," said the teen quietly, "I won't leave, don't worry."

Taeyong smiled and he gradually seemed to return to normal. He dropped his arms down and simple sat down on the floor. Taeil let out a sigh of relief, and turned to face Kun.

"Can you get the bag?" he asked, and the latter nodded, disappearing from the doorway.

Mark moved away from Taeyong as the caretaker sat cross-legged in front of him, and reached out for the patient's bloody clothes, and lifted up his shirt to check his bandaged side. He was incredibly thin, with his ribs clearly visible. The teen looked away—not because he was squeamish, but simple because he didn't want to see the elder's body—fiddling with his hands as he looked down at his lap.

When Kun returned, he told everybody to move from the doorway, and instead an unfamiliar man walked in. Taeil looked at Mark and sighed.

"Taeyong, do you want him to stay while we change your bandage? We won't send him home."

The elder nodded.

"I can leave the room," said Mark, "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"Stay."

"Okay," the teen muttered.

Kun moved beside Mark as the stranger knelt beside Taeyong. Taeil was rummaging through the bag, before he took out a container of different pills and selected two.

"This is to stop the pain, okay?" he said, holding one up, "This one will calm you down."

The patient nodded and took them both, and he was handed a bottle of water. The stranger held up Taeyong's shirt and began to remove the bandage which was already stained red with blood. Mark was surprised that he hadn't seemed to be in pain _at all_. Unless he was just incredibly good at hiding it. The stranger wiped around the wound with a once white cloth and soaked it in water, as the patient simply sat there bashing a rock against the floor. But over time, the teen realized that Taeyong's eyes were slowly shutting. He was attempting to keep them open, but his attempts weren't working well.

"It's taking affect," said Taeil, moving to hold him up, "move everything. We'll lie him down."

Mark's eyes widened, "you lied to him?"

"He wouldn't take them otherwise. We can't clean his wound properly while he's awake, that would be torture!" the stranger exclaimed.

"He'd refuse to sit still. He's normally way more active than that," said Taeil.

Kun sighed, "come outside. They could be working for a while. I'll sit with you in the other room."

Mark hesitantly obliged. He didn't know _why_ he wasn't running while he had the chance, he could tell that he was playing a dangerous game in an equally as unstable building as the people inside. But Taeyong had protected him, and they had a promise. Mark was going to take him outside one way or another.

He sat down in the other room with a sigh, and his attention was averted to two more unfamiliar faces in the room. One of them sat coloring in a book, while the other simply watched over him and occasionally talked to him, pointing at his work. When he and Kun sat down, Ten hurried to the latter's side and rested his head on his shoulder. The teen had to admit it was adorable.

"You're confused, aren't you?" asked Kun, "We're not just a bunch of weirdos."

"Well, first of all, I don't get exactly why you're doing this."

"Because it's the right thing to do. You know yourself, that they would die here without us."

The teen nodded, "but... you're actually treating them? Not just feeding them?"

"I wouldn't say we're treating them," said Kun, "but we do what we can to alleviate their symptoms and let them live as normally as we can, without endangering anyone."

Mark looked around the room. He'd began to see them as more than just the "crazy guys" who he met a month earlier. He'd seem a much more normal, and human side to them. From Jaehyun comforting Ten, and Taeyong protecting him for the second time, they just seemed far less like dangerous people to fear. Granted, he still hadn't really gotten used to Johnny. But he was sure he had his reasons for his actions.

"Where did you go?" asked Mark, "I seriously thought I was going to be murdered when they locked me in Taeyong's room."

Kun chuckled, "two places. First, we had an exam in university. Second, we had to meet Xiaojun, Hendery and Yangyang at the airport."

"The new three?"

"They're not new. You've just never seen them around. Hendery is helping Taeil, they brought some medication from China to use here. Xiaojun and Yangyang—who's drawing—are over there."

Mark hummed in understanding. He was still confused but decided not to dig any further just yet. He didn't want to seem like he just came to extort information from them, and he assumed a lot of the information was delicate. He sat and observed for a while, and was rather amused when Jaehyun started to dispute with Johnny. Yuta and Sicheng both sat watching it, with the former occasionally joining in. 

Yangyang looked over to them as he picked up a different color and scowled, before whispering something in Xiaojun's ear. The elder laughed and turned around.

"Can you be quiet?" he asked.

Johnny turned around, "why should we?"

"Just listen to him and stop running that mouth of yours," said Jaehyun.

"Since when have you been a tame little pet?"

"Hey," said Taeil from the doorway, "shut it. I'll deal with you later."

Johnny became silent as the caretaker pointed at him and slouched against the wall. Jaehyun moved away, but Yuta stayed where he was an literally laughed in the eldest patient's face.

"Mark, can we talk?" asked Taeil, and all eyes were on the teen.

"Uh... I guess?"

He left the room and followed the elder to the staircase to the next floor, where the latter paused and turned around.

"Look, I don't know what is going on with you and Taeyong," he said, "but if you're going to be lurking around here, you need to help us, and not just play around. You need to be serious."

"There's nothing going on—"

"He trusts you. None of us have gotten that close to him. I'm doing this for his sake, so, what do you say? Are you going to help us around here?"

Mark didn't know what to say. He was only a teenager, and he didn't know if he _could_ handle the patients if something got out of hand. On top of that, if his parents found out, they'd probably call the police and he'd be grounded for the rest of his life for endangering himself.

"I can't accept silence. Yes or no."

"Yes, I'll do it."

Taeil grinned, "good. I'll let you see Taeyong first, he's still knocked out, but since you're going to be his caretaker from now on—"

"Wait... what?"

"You agreed. I heard it with my own ears."

"I thought you meant help, not take over," said Mark.

The elder patted his shoulder, "relax. I'll help you, but it would be better if I focused on Johnny. You see, he's pretty demanding."

"Fine, take me to him."

Taeil continued up the stairs and turned to the first door in the long hallway. Mark recalled that floor was where Taeyong had shown him the body of the doctor, and he stopped walking.

"Before we go inside, I have a question," he said, "is there anything actually wrong with Taeyong? Is he not just different?"

"He told you there was nothing wrong with him, didn't he?" Taeil sighed.

"Yeah, he said that people don't like how he acts."

"Before his psychiatrist was killed, he managed to foreshadow that Taeyong was planning something. When we found the body, Taeyong, Jaehyun and Yuta's files were in that room where he was hiding out. Jaehyun was returned to his parents when this facility was closed, but they brought him right back when the building was abandoned and moved out of the country. Yuta was about to be transferred to the new building, but he stabbed the ones who were moving him and escaped into the woods, and returned afterwards."

Taeil paused at he was speaking and leaned against the wall, sighing, "Taeyong's mother died. His father was arrested for child neglect, and eventually found dead in his cell. He had nobody to return to, and his psychiatrist had failed the treatment as far as the other staff were concerned. The files said that his psychiatrist was ordered to kill him because he was a lost cause. He could barely speak and always acted up when he was inside his room."

"Wait—" said Mark, "—but he can talk fine now?"

"That's thanks to Jaehyun and Yuta. They taught him while they were living here alone, and when Johnny found them, we eventually came, and continued to teach him. He's a lot calmer than he used to be, it was almost like we were training a puppy," Taeil chuckled, "he still eats messily and has bit us a few times, but I think we succeeded."

Mark was somewhat amazed. He had no idea Taeyong's past was _that_ bad. It was unsurprising that he didn't want to talk about it, and that he had nightmares. 

"But none of that answers your question, does it?" asked the caretaker, "Taeyong and Yuta have ASPD— I assume you don't know what that is?"

The teen shook his head, "I don't."

"Antisocial Personality Disorder. That basically means they have tendencies of criminal behavior. They don't like to pay attention to our rules, and they act on their anger all the time. They can't help it, so we just have to reaffirm our rules and punish them accordingly. Which is generally just time in confinement, well, their rooms. They both have bad pasts, so we take that into account. Neglect and abuse does this kind of thing to people."

"And what about the others? It might be better if I understand exactly what is going on and do some research."

"That's a good idea, because if we're not here to help you, things might get out of hand," Taeil replied, "Johnny has Paranoid Schizophrenia. He, as you might have guessed, get paranoid easily, and he hallucinates sometimes, but he is on medication. Unfortunately for you he thinks Taeyong is a hazard, which is why they fight a lot. He attacked you because he thought you were coming to attack _us_."

"Those three are the only ones you need to worry about, but for your knowledge, Jaehyun has Borderline Personality Disorder, so he may have mood swings, and sometimes he can get argumentative or he'll go completely silent. Ten has severe anxiety, every now and again he falls into a depressive state but Kun is the one who deals with him because they've know each other for a while. Yangyang is a mute. He only talks to Xiaojun and Hendery. He's also got anxiety but he distracts himself by drawing."

"Is that it?" asked Mark, slightly overwhelmed by the information.

"For now."

He led the teen into the room where Taeyong was. The room actually had a bed, unlike the others, and contained some medical equipment. Nothing big, just simple items such as bandages, antiseptic products and average painkillers, though in a locked, yet labelled, container. The patient was lying down on the bed with a clean shirt on, and no blood in sight. Mark was relieved that he wasn't going to be wandering around in blood-stained clothes anymore. He smiled, and Taeil closed the door behind them.

"Don't get too attached. We try our best, but if something goes wrong we'll have to hand him over to the certified professionals," he said quietly.

"Do you think he can live a normal life?"

"That's why we're keeping him here. If he ends up in the hands of somebody else he'll be locked in a room twenty-four seven and, with the best of outcomes, he'll end up as a lab rat. The government doesn't care about any of these guys' lives."

They stood in silence, and Mark was in thought. He didn't realize the country was so neglectful, the government was just as bad as Taeyong's parents, in his opinion.

Taeil looked through the drawers, and eventually took out a sheet of paper. It was Taeyong's file. It was covered in dirt and even blood in some places. He passed it to the teen, "once you're done here, there's a bucket and a cloth in the room next door. For your first job, clean up all of the blood on the ground floor."

Mark sighed. It was going to be a long day.


	10. Bitter Memory

"What the hell was that?" Yuta exclaimed, running up the stairs.

He came to an abrupt stop when he saw Jaehyun stood in the hallway. He looked past him, hearing a noise from further along. What he saw surprised him. Another patient, still dressed in his gowns and broken restraints, was continuously stabbing the body of Dr Park, the psychiatrist who had stayed back with him. The patients had no idea _why_ he wasn't being moved like everyone else. There was a pool of blood growing around them, and the other patients simply stared. They didn't know what to do.

Yuta soon broke out of his thoughts and hurried over, pulling the stranger back. The latter let out a growl-like noise that he could only assume was a warning to stay back. He clenched the knife in his right hand and tried to get himself out of the Japanese patient's grasp, flailing his arms which ultimately resulted in Yuta's arm being cut. He cursed under his breath as he moved back and fell onto the floor, before turning to see Jaehyun's horrified expression.

"Don't just stand there!"

The youngest patient's wide eyes averted to Yuta, and he hurried over to his side. Seeing the wound, he quickly looked away and the latter sighed.

"You're scared of blood?"

"Shut up," Jaehyun muttered, getting up.

He ran into one of the rooms and returned with a pillow, which, at first, Yuta scoffed at, but when he quickly ripped it open and emptied out the insides. He passed the outer fabric to the other patient for him to stop the bleeding himself. He looked over to the unknown patient and sighed.

"He's already dead anyway. You got cut for no reason."

"I was trying to stop further blood spill, not save him. He deserved every stab."

"What do we do about him?"

Yuta squinted in pain as he tightened the fabric around his arm, "finish him ourselves? He's a complete madman, he'll kill us next."

"Hey," Jaehyun shouted, "he's dead, stop making a mess."

He gained no response.

"You've been here longer than me and you didn't know there was somebody else in here?"

"I didn't scout the building. I've been living on the bottom floor."

Jaehyun grabbed the patient from behind, pulling him away and then pushed him onto the floor. The knife fell out of his grasp and slid in Yuta's direction, so he picked it up and moved over beside the younger, who was holding the unfamiliar patient down. They saw the panic rise on his face as the Japanese patient held the knife near him.

"Who are you?" asked Jaehyun.

"He probably can't breath with you sat on his stomach, get up."

The younger moved and instead tightly gripped onto the patient's arm. Despite how the latter tried to pull his arm away, he couldn't, and with a knife at the other side of him, he felt cornered. His eyes looked between the two men beside him and he tensed up, moving against the wall. 

"I'll ask again. Who are you?"

"Do you think he's stupid?" asked Yuta.

He moved the knife closer and the patient shook his head rapidly, "h-hurt."

"Hurt?" asked Jaehyun grinning, "Your name is hurt?"

"No, idiot. You're hurting him by holding on so tightly."

The younger sighed, "what's your name?"

He looked as though he was about to burst into tears when he looked at the bloody knife beside his face. Yuta laughed at him as he started whining.

"B-bad."

"You're bad. You killed somebody," said Yuta, "we're protecting ourselves."

"He's weird," Jaehyun noted.

"Should we just kill him?"

That was it. The patient started to squirm in the younger's grasp and tears ran down his face. The other two patients made eye contact, both confused.

"No kill," he said, "please..."

"So now you're talking?" asked Yuta.

"Name?"

The patient shook his head.

Jaehyun sighed, "you don't know your name?"

"Lets just kill him," the Japanese patient suggested.

"He doesn't want killed."

"Would you?" Yuta scoffed.

"Shouldn't we at least move the body first? We can get him to move it," said the younger.

"Fine," Yuta sighed, "you heard him, move it."

Jaehyun dragged the unfamiliar patient over to the body, but he just looked at him, confused. The lack of any remorse showing on his face chilled the younger patient right to the bone.

"Run, and we kill. Okay?" he said.

The patient seemed to understand, frowning, before nodding slowly. Yuta scoffed at Jaehyun but watched curiously.

"Bring the doc in here."

He opened the door to a room. The unfamiliar patient begun to drag the psychiatrist's body into the room by the leg, occasionally pausing to stretch his back. An inch at a time, the body left a trail of blood as he dragged it further inside. Just as he was about to pull the body completely inside, Jaehyun yelled, causing him to stop.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, "What's that?"

He pointed at some paper that was pushed in the corner of the room. The patient picked it up with his blood-coated hands and looked, but the contents confused him. He looked at the top sheet, and saw himself on the page. He furrowed his eyebrows and tapped the paper.

"Give it to me."

He obliged, stepping over the body. Jaehyun took the sheets of paper which ended up covered in blood and scanned over the first page.

"Bingo," he said, "Lee Taeyong."

"What?" asked Yuta, "Who's that?"

"That's our killer."

"Him? Let me see."

Jaehyun hummed in confusion, "our information is here too."

Taeyong continued to pull the body into the room, seeing the others preoccupied by the paper. He eventually dropped Dr Park's leg and stepped over him again. Stood behind the other two patients, he looked towards the stairs. They were distracted. He was coming up with a plan of escape when Jaehyun turned around, taking him by surprise.

"He's feral?" Yuta exclaimed, "He's older than us too."

"Taeyong," said the youngest patient, "you don't know how to speak?"

The Japanese patient stopped looking at the paper and turned around, "should we keep him? We could get him to do the stuff we don't want to."

"That's called using somebody."

"Safe?" asked Taeyong, looking at them with a soft expression.

"Yeah," said Yuta, "you're safe."

• • •

"What's this?" asked Jaehyun, pointing at the body on the floor.

"Bad," Taeyong replied confidently, sat cross-legged on the debris-coated floor.

"Yes, but what is it?"

"Dead?"

The younger patient clapped, his dimples appearing as he smiled at him, "good. Now what did you kill him with?"

"Sharp knife."

"That's right. What will you not do from now on?"

"Kill bad men."

There was a scoff from the doorway and they turned to see Yuta stood with a torn paper bag in one hand, and his other hand was covering his nose and mouth, "can you stop sitting with the body? It was hard enough to get him to clean himself once, never mind having to do it every time he tries to attack something and you try to tell him it's wrong."

Jaehyun rolled his eyes and leaned over to Taeyong, "who's he?"

"Stupid Yuta," the latter whispered, and they celebrated his success via a high-five.

"Hurry up and come downstairs. I couldn't gather many scraps today."

"Scavenger," Jaehyun remarked.

"Do you expect a whole banquet? Even before this place shut we only got junk."

Back on the ground floor, Yuta threw down the paper bag on a heavily scratched and chipped plate, and Taeyong immediately ripped it open. They all sat down and picked at the food, and when Jaehyun leaned to wipe food from the feral patient's face, the elder pushed his hand away and scurried into the corner of the room. Yuta laughed as he protected his food and glared in their direction.

They each heard a thud, and the youngest patient set down his food and grabbed the knife. It was more a scare tactic, as he had no intention of harming anyone and completely froze at the sight of blood. He heard footsteps and a man's cough get closer, as something occasionally slammed into the walls of the building. By the time Jaehyun had set his hand down on the handle, Taeyong was already alerted in a crouch. Nibbling at his fingers, he sat with his eyes fixated on the door. He let out a quiet growl and Yuta whispered at him to be quiet.

"It a bad—"

The Japanese patient hurried over to his side and covered his mouth to muffle the elder's talking. Jaehyun began to pull down the handle, and when the footsteps grew exceptionally close, he opened the door. In the entire time that they had been living there—nearing around three months—Yuta had, in what he claimed was an accident, killed a trespasser, and had his role of protector revoked by Jaehyun. He knew the younger didn't have what it took to protect them if necessary.

Both Jaehyun and the man from beyond the door screamed, and the Japanese patient simply sighed and rubbed his face in embarrassment. Before he could get up and snatch the knife from the youngest's grasp, Taeyong shot past him and ran out of the door. He knocked the knife from Jaehyun's hand and jumped towards the unfamiliar trespasser. Instead of attacking, he roughly grabbed the stranger's arm and pushed him towards the other patients, he grunted, waiting for them to take hold of the man.

Yuta reached out in confusion and grabbed onto the trespasser, who, after regaining the mentality to even respond, struggled to get loose. Taeyong aided the younger patient in pushing the man into the room. Jaehyun stood against the door so nobody could get in or out.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Yuta, picking up the knife and holding it to him side.

"Uh— I'm Johnny—"

"What are you doing here?"

Johnny's gaze averted to Taeyong as his heart thumped rapidly inside his chest. The latter was glaring at him, with his eyebrows furrowed and his strong gaze following every slight movement. The patients looked as the stranger seemed to look around the room, and started muttering to himself. Yuta and Jaehyun made eye contact and the former raised an eyebrow.

"I knew this was a bad idea..." Johnny muttered with his eyes clenched shut, "Can we talk without all these people here?"

"Sit down in the corner," Yuta sighed, "you two, get out."

Taeyong followed behind Jaehyun hesitantly. He didn't like that somebody was in their space, but gathered it was better to listen to the younger patient.

"Now answer the question."

Johnny hesitated, "well... I was just curious and I needed somewhere to go—"

"You shouldn't have come in here."

"He's staring..." the stranger muttered, gulping as he looking in the opposite corner of the room.

Yuta turned around, confused. He'd sent the others out, there was nobody else inside.

"Who is?" he asked, getting agitated.

"The man, the one in the corner."


	11. Growing Trust

Mark sighed as he dropped the cloth back into the bucket. He groaned, stretching his back and grabbed the handle. When he turned to leave Taeyong's room, he was taken aback by Jaehyun's presence and his breath hitched in surprise.

"I heard you're going to continue contaminating around here."

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough."

Mark sighed, "believe me, it wasn't exactly my choice to stay here."

Jaehyun scoffed, shaking his head, "that's uncertainty if I've ever seen it."

"But that's irrelevant. If I agree to something, I stick to my word."

"Do you know how somebody should act if they're under attack by lions?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'll take that as a no," the elder replied, "they have to act strong. Be certain and stand their ground. Do you think you would survive?"

Mark furrowed his eyebrows. "Save the fancy speech, I'm busy."

"Oh, you'll become dead meat very quickly."

"Are you done?"

"I'm done. Have a nice day, invader."

Mark sighed as Jaehyun disappeared beyond the wall. All of the patients' presences always put him on edge.

• • •

Climbing back through the unboarded window, Mark threw his backpack down onto the floor and grabbed the wooden board again. He pushed it carefully back into its place and wiped the dust from his hands.

He came straight from school—making a detour to a public bathroom in order to swap his uniform for normal clothes. He sighed, looking at the mud on his clean trainers from walking around the back of the building. As he neared the communal room, he furrowed his eyebrows. The scent of cooked food was flooding through the building, despite them being completely isolated from any working electricity or power sources.

When he opened the door, Johnny scowled at his presence before returning to eating his ramen. Some of the others were also eating, minding their own business, but in the corner of the room there was a lump of blankets and the teen immediately figured out who it was. Taeil pulled Mark aside, his eyes trailing over to Taeyong who ignored the familiar presence.

"He's in a bad mood," the eldest whispered, "after the storm last night, he slipped in the garden and got filthy, so we had to... you know. Clean him up a bit."

Mark chuckled and walked over to the patient, taking a seat beside him and trying to sneak a look at him. Taeyong covered his face with one of the many blankets he was wrapped in and sighed. The teen gently shook him and he uncovered himself slightly, revealing his eyes and the wet strands of hair clinging to his forehead.

He blinked, furrowing his eyebrows as Mark laughed quietly. "Why are you being moody?"

"I don't like the tub."

"It's a nice place. If you didn't refuse they wouldn't have to force you in."

The tub, also known as—to Taeyong—the torture chamber, was just as it sounded. An over-sized metal tub that the others filled with barely warmed water that had to buy from the local store and heat at home. They were _trying_ to improve the hygiene standards, but it was difficult when they had to keep everything low-key.

Taeil, Kun and Sicheng had to force him in, with the eldest managing to at least clean the filth from his hair as the others held his arms so the squirming around was minimal. He always put up a fight, but it wasn't as though he didn't like water. He preferred being clean, he just hated the superficial scented soap which irritated his nose.

Taeyong returned to his prior adopted position, placing his head down on the floor with a mere layer between the dusty ground and himself. He gently closed his eyes, taking the opportunity to sleep. Mark's relaxed demeanor calmed him. Somehow, in his presence, he felt safer. But in reality, he was the one who protected the teen.

Mark smiled at the patient but was distracted by the sound of quick shuffling, and looked up to see Johnny running towards Yuta.

"What the hell was that for?" he exclaimed.

"No reason. I just don't like seeing your face."

Sicheng nudged the Japanese patient and grabbed his arm, while Taeil stood up ready to grab Johnny if necessary. The older patient glared down at Yuta who held several other rocks in his hand, sat on the floor. He picked one out of his palm and threw it at him again.

Johnny was scowling at him and had visibly tensed, but felt restricted by the presences around him. Everyone's eyes were on him. Even Taeyong looked up hearing the situation unfolding. Mark watched as he simply walked away, roughly sitting back down and slouching against the wall. Taeil seemed to praise him.

The others resumed to their talking, and Taeyong placed his head back down. It seemed like too much of a normal occurrence. Mark had only been helping out for three days, but he noticed the indifference when an argument broke out or somebody was hit. But the caretakers rarely ever argued with the patients, nor were they met by violence. They had a mutual respect—seen as the food-givers to the patients—and clear lines that must not be crossed.

"Taeil," said Mark abruptly, "are there any jobs for me to do?"

The elder hummed in thought, "if you're up for it you could clean rubble from the rooms upstairs. We should consider utilizing our space well."

The teen stood up straight away, just wanting to evade the stares directed his way. He wasn't a fan of cleaning but it gave him something to do, plus he could wander on his own for a while. He made his way to the designated cleaning room and grabbed the bucket to just throw the rubble into, and a brush to sweep the excess.

As he pushed open the door to another room—leaving the one which had became a body throwaway point over time and was recently chained shut—and froze when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Taeyong looking back at him with curious eyes. The elder's clean white t-shirt hung low on his shoulders and really made his black hair stand out, still lying over his eyes wet from the earlier bath.

"What are you doing here?" asked Mark.

"I'm keeping you company so you don't get lonely."

"You don't have to—"

Taeyong sat down in the corner of the room, clearly showing that he wasn't going to leave.

"You're my new Taeil, I need to be with you."

Mark was taken aback but smiled, "alright. Help me clean then."

The patient began to pick up large chunks of rock from the ground as the teen looked up, scanning the ceiling. The building really was in a dangerous state. He doubted the above floors were even inhabitable, with the floor above crumbling and throwing down debris. Taeyong counted the rock quietly as he put it away and Mark began to brush the cleared areas, occasionally helping the elder.

"Are we still going outside?" asked Taeyong out of nowhere, looking up with hopeful eyes.

"Uh... yeah. Eventually."

"Why not now?"

"I don't think Taeil exactly trusts me yet. Be patient, and we can have a nice day outside in summer, okay?"

He nodded, "alright."

"Is that all you came here for?" asked Mark, slightly disappointed that the elder really just wanted to know when they'd be leaving.

"No, I'm here so you aren't lonely. If I don't stay with you, you'll be lonely."

"People don't need others around them all the time, don't feel like you _need_ to come with me."

"But dogs get lonely?"

Mark furrowed his eyebrows, "dogs?"

"Momma told me that if I didn't stay with the dogs they'd get lonely—"

Taeyong paused, looking down. The teen saw him rub his eyes and awkwardly placed back down the rock in his hand. The patient looked so small as he hid from Mark's view and sniffled quietly.

"Taeyong—"

"I miss her."

"You do?" asked Mark, "I thought she—"

"That was papa. He didn't like me. Momma wanted me to keep the dogs company so they were happy."

The teen slowly edged closer to Taeyong and hesitantly embraced him. The latter immediately wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in the crook of the younger's neck. In the moment, Mark felt like it was all he could do. As much as he hated it, he wanted the elder to feel comfortable and not upset.

"You can talk to me. Don't keep anything in."

"It was cold..." the patient muttered, "When momma came outside to feed us, she looked sad. She was hurt."

"Because of your father?"

"I think."

"The barn leaked in winter. When there was thunder, we'd all hide behind the hay bales until it stopped. When the rain stopped, momma would bring me a blanket. She would talk to me for a bit, but I couldn't say anything back. I just stared. She didn't mind, and just continued."

Mark reassuringly brought his hand to Taeyong's hair and ran his fingers through the strands gently.

"Before the men took me away, papa told me that momma died because I was bad. They saw me hiding in the barn and he was taken to a cell."

"He's gone now, he can't harm you."

"But momma is gone because of me—"

"Don't believe that nonsense," Mark replied, "your father was bad. He was the one who took her away from you."

Mark caught a glance of Taeil in the doorway, his expression faltering from surprise to a gentle smile. He stepped away from the room to give them peace. At first, he was unsure if his idea was right. But the teen seemed to be successful at getting let into Taeyong's deeper feelings. He was sure there was a reason why the patient began to trust Mark so easily, but just hadn't quite figured it out yet.

• • •

Taeyong sat in the room simply staring into space as time passed. Through people entering the room and leaving, and the usual sounds coming from the upstairs space, he remained sitting in his place in the corner. He didn't have much sense of time aside from sunlight, but he could tell it was passing painfully slow.

He stood up, finally having enough of witnessing Yuta's one-way affection towards Sicheng.

"Where are you going?" asked the patient.

"The garden," Taeyong replied plainly, walking out of the worn-down door.

He headed down the hallway, and upon passing Johnny's room, he paused. He could hear him and Taeil inside, and, luckily through the lack of peace the facility had always given, he could hear them clearly.

"What are you thinking keeping that kid around here?" asked the patient.

"We needed somebody else. Taeyong was the only one that needs a lot of attention who didn't have his own caregiver, though, I still do most of the work."

Johnny sighed, "that's because nobody _wants_ to be responsible for him."

"Plus, I've seen the way Taeyong looks at Mark. I think he might be the key to figuring out exactly what would happen if we mixed him with outsiders. He respects him, and you can tell he's intrigued," the elder replied.

"Just hope your plan doesn't backfire. You know I wouldn't hesitate to deal with him in my own way."

"You've done enough already."

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows as the room fell silent and walked past. The sun was beaming down on the "garden", despite the large shadow the buildings cast upon them. It'd been so long he forgot what it was like outside of the confines of crumbling walls. He was ready to be set free. Mark was presenting that opportunity to him, so he had to stay on the younger's good side and make sure that he kept his promise. He hated lies and certainly hated broken promises. He stared up at the clouds in the sky and sighed in relief.

The weather had incredibly unstable. One day it was clear, the next there was a storm. Much to the caregivers' disliking, Taeyong didn't care if it was raining. He would still go outside. But there was one thing he refused to go out in—thunder and lightning. It was a deeply wired fear from spending years with the only barrier between him and the elements being wood and thin slate. It was loud, making both him and the animals terrified. Luckily he slept beside the herding dogs for warmth, or on the odd occasion they weren't with him, he'd had goats grow up beside him who felt calm enough in his presence to allow him inside of their space.

Taeyong jumped up onto the tree and sat down. He heard twigs snapping before Jaehyun appeared looking at him.

"What?" he asked, sighing.

"I'm curious about something," the younger spoke, "about why you saved Mark."

The elder turned around, "why does everyone care so much?"

"Because you've tried to kill outsiders on several occasions. He's like a tame pet compared to you."

"He needed my help in that moment. I've saved you before too."

"That was different, you _actually_ knew me beforehand."

"I don't know why I keep instinctively defending him. But now we have an agreement and I need him alive."

Jaehyun paused, "so what about hugging and sleeping on his lap?"

"I'm used to sleeping with the body warmth of somebody else," Taeyong muttered.

"He's not one of us. He's prey to the others, and you know that if you lost control, you'd hurt him too."

"I won't hurt him. I've accepted him into our territory."

Jaehyun sighed, "there's no talking sense into you. Fine, continue treating him like your friend. Let's see how quickly you turn around and latch them jaws of yours onto him. You know that's who you really are."


	12. Watchful Eyes

Mark walked up to the school roof, where Doyoung, Jungwoo and Lucas were already sat eating their lunch. He let out a huff as he sat down and the eldest turned to look at him.

"Look at those black circles," he pointed out, "have you been glued to video games again?"

"Didn't you break your computer?"

"Guys, it's obvious he's up late at night doing things he doesn't want to share. Give him privacy," said Lucas.

Doyoung simply ignored him, "also, care to explain why your hands are cut?"

Mark looked down at the small lines of crimson scattered across his hands, "it's nothing interesting. I was cleaning-"

"Don't lie to us," said the eldest as the other two burst out laughing, "you don't clean."

"I'm not lying! There was smashed glass in my garden and I was cleaning it up."

"With the back of your hands?"

"Why would you care about the garden?"

Jungwoo furrowed his eyebrows, "you're missing something here, he doesn't have a garden."

"You're right."

"You've also been refusing to meet us!" Lucas exclaimed.

"You're keeping something from us..?" asked Doyoung.

"We're your best friends!" Jungwoo whined

Mark sighed, "I'm not hiding anything, I'm just tired."

"I don't believe you," said Doyoung, "we will find out eventually."

"Creepy..."

"You're supposed to trust us," Lucas added.

"I do. I'm really not hiding anything from you."

"Alright, let's believe him," said Jungwoo, "we're the ones not trusting him here."

• • •

"I'm actually going to explode," Taeil said in frustration, massaging his temples as he held a pill in his hand, "take it, or I'll be angry."

Johnny shook his head, pushing the elder's hand away, "I don't need it."

"Just because you think you're fine, it doesn't mean you are."

The others were all too busy minding their own business to make any snarky comments, and Kun sighed as he watched the sight before him.

"Take it," Taeil said sternly, "I'm not forcing it down your throat."

"I've been fine for almost a week, no symptoms. It's gone, I don't need them anymore."

"Johnny," the eldest sighed. "You can't be cured, if you stop taking your medicine, your episodes will come back worse."

"This entertainment sucks," Yuta groaned, and Sicheng nudged him.

Taeyong yawned, slouched in the corner as Mark was preoccupied on his phone. It was early on a Saturday morning and was the first time the teen was present during the medicine rounds. Johnny, Ten and Yangyang were the only ones with actual prescribed medicine, and the former was the most likely to refuse to take it.

"I don't need that disgusting stuff to live my life," Johnny commented, closing his eyes.

"Alright, you win. You don't need to take it."

Both Kun and Sicheng's eyes widened.

"But Taeil—"

"That's risky," said Hendery, "what if-"

"If he says he's cured, he's cured. Right?" asked the eldest, before he began mouthing something to them.

The other patients just watched, confused. Mark had no idea what all of the fuss was about, watching as Taeil stood up.

"I should probably head to the store, does anybody have any preferences for lunch?" he asked.

"Something edible," Jaehyun replied, busy grinding a stone against the ground.

The eldest rolled his eyes, "you're the most helpful out of everyone."

The patient smiled, mostly because Johnny scowled at the clearly-sarcastic comment, though he failed to recognize it.

"So, I'll take that as your agreement to not complain about the food I buy for you. Mark, come with me."

"Me?" asked the teen, "Why?"

"Why would I take somebody who can handle all of the patients while I'm gone? You've yet to prove yourself."

Mark stood up, turning around to Taeyong, "I won't be long."

The elder frowned, looking down. He was hoping that they'd take him too. Yet there they were, walking away without him. The door was gently closed, and Taeyong huffed as he roughly lied down on the floor.

"He's sulking again," Johnny laughed and the younger patient moved his head, glaring at him.

"Not now," said Kun, momentarily moving away from Ten's grasp, and he turned Taeyong's head back away, "no fighting."

Sicheng sighed as he held a textbook in his grasp, with Yuta sitting beside him practically staring as he admired his caretaker, "I'm beginning to think there's no changing already developed personalities. Are we really ready to do this for the next, what? Sixty years of our lives?"

Both Yuta and Ten seemed startled, and Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows.

"You don't want to be with us?" asked the Japanese patient, sounding completely different than usual.

"I don't mean that! I just think... wouldn't you rather not fight each other every day?"

Johnny scoffed, "somebody has high hopes."

• • •

Taeil walked through the store's aisles, occasionally grabbing things from the shelves to easily feed the mouths they ultimately had to provide for. Mark was bored out of his mind as they walked in silence, barely interacting.

"We've got a bit of a problem," said the elder suddenly, "well, a big problem, actually."

"What is it?"

"It's summer, I think you've gathered that. That's mostly good, but I think you realized that me, Kun and Sicheng have been a bit distracted."

"Oh no, don't tell me you'll need to leave again."

"Not exactly," he replied, "but we do have some extra classes during summer since we graduate university next year. You're only young, so we get that you need to spend time with your friends... but would you mind helping out a little more once you're on break?"

"I guess," Mark replied, "since I agreed to help you."

“We also need to start going to our part-time jobs more... Or we'll be stuck in there forever.”

“What are you planning to do? Surely once you graduate you'll be working in an open place.”

“We're going to buy some land, with or without buildings, and set up a more professional place for the patients to stay,” Taeil replied. “Well, that will take a while, but we'll just have to manage between the two until we can have a secure space where we can trust them to stay.”

“I've been meaning to ask,” Mark hesitated, “have you ever thought about taking Taeyong outside of the walls?”

The elder sighed, “I knew this was coming.”

“I asked him what he'd do if he escaped, and he only seemed interested in exploring.”

“If we were to allow Taeyong to go outside, the others would have to be allowed too. It's not that we don't want them too, actually, it would be better for them. But what if somebody recognizes any of them? Yuta has killed four people since his escape, and Taeyong? He's practically infamous.”

“I just think it'd be nice for him. He feels caged... and if he was allowed to go outside with me accompanying him, he might start listening. Use it as a threat—if he misbehaves, he can't go outside. The extra exercise would get his energy out.”

“I understand what you mean, but this is a group issue. If he was to escape from you, you'd be responsible for whatever happens. He kills somebody? That's on you. He dies? That's also on you. You're responsible for him now. Are you really ready to take that backlash from others?”

Mark looked down, he knew Taeil was right. Taeyong was unpredictable and it wasn't as though he was a leashed pet. If he wanted to, he'd run, and he'd never be seen again.

“I'll give it some thought, but for now, he stays inside of those walls.”

He still saw it as a success. There was still a possibility, and he didn't blatantly question the teen's ability to handle the patient. Mark was still uncertain as to if he could trust himself to deal with the responsibility.

With bags tightly gripped in their grasp, Taeil led the teen through the woods—following a path that the latter never even knew existed—towards the old asylum. Carrying bags into their while walking past the front would be far too suspicious. As they proceeded towards the building, the elder quickly stuck his arm out, stopping Mark in his tracks.

"There's somebody lurking at the door, we need to wait."

Surely enough, a man was stood by the loosely placed window board with a camera. Looking through the view finder, he was preoccupied taking photos as they watched from a distance. Taeil tensed as the man began to pull at the board. Taken aback as it came loose, he seemed genuinely surprised and pushed it back. Stepping away from the window, he gathered his things and was soon sprinting away from the building quickly.

"Something tells me he'll be back," said the eldest, "we need to figure out a way to deter people before we're discovered by anybody else. I still don't trust your friends."

"They won't talk, believe me. They act as though it never happened."

"Either way, we need to keep these curious wanderers at bay. The moment something is out of control, we're done for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you didn't know, this story now has a [Concept FMV](https://youtu.be/ieZTskqEUvo)


	13. Noises In The Dark

Mark was sure his heart was going to explode out of his chest as his feet heavily collided with the floor. Practically pouncing up the staircase, he kept his eyes fixated on the hallway before him. It was never his intention to stay the night—convincing his parents that he was going camping with Lucas which, within its self, proved to be a challenge—sleeping among the chilling sounds of the wind, the breaking of branches beyond the walls and the alarming sounds echoing from the floors above. Nonetheless he continued onward, ignoring the dread running up his spine. He heard a laugh, soft and eerie. The lack of light was playing tricks on his stimulated mind. The wind was a breath. His footsteps sounded like several. He briefly caught his reflection in the second floor window, gripping his torch in his nimble fingers. With a brisk turn he scanned the wall behind him.

The caretakers were gone. Only patients remained. As Mark kept to himself in the main room in the late hours of the night, he could hear them beyond the door. Tapping in inconsistent intervals was plaguing the halls dimly lit by the battery-powered lamp in Ten's room. The doors remained unlocked. They stalked the halls at night. Alerted by grim murmurs, the teen slipped away from Taeyong's cold grasp—which he had been embraced by with little to no warning—grabbing a torch, he headed towards the door. It creaked on its hinges as it swung open, momentarily allowing light to flood into the room. He closed the door gently and decided to do a quick round to check on all of the patients. But something was wrong. As he reached the final room, thunderous steps headed his way. He ran.

And so there he was running towards the end of a hallway. He'd never progressed that far on the second floor. Wires draped from the ceiling where the panels had crashed to the floor over the years, creating an entire playground for pests. As he rushed through the path of debris, something flew past his head, taking him by surprise. His breath hitched and his heart rate soared. He heard an unnerving laugh. A surge of adrenaline sent him onward without hesitation. But the steps behind him faded. Mark wasn't going to fall for his pursuer's tricks. The walls had visibly crumbled, leaving some barely standing. He soon came to a turn, and he was unsurprised; the building was a square, after all.

He blindly rushed further and further into the unknown. The torch was barely of any use, with it's cast light swinging in the teen's grasp. He wouldn't even have known if he had run right into a trap until it was too late. There was faint shouting in the distance, but Mark could hardly make out the words over his footsteps and shallow breathing. He didn't know who was following him and why, but his instincts were telling him to run, and he certainly wasn't planning on falling victim to the very group of people he was intending on caring for. But as he headed straight towards another staircase, he paused. There were collapsed wooden blockades on the ground before him, and beyond them the handrail for the stairs was almost completely freestanding, with only the frame of the actual steps remaining. The wood was rotting from water damage, and, as Mark slowly looked into the room beside him, he saw the ceiling completely collapsed inwards onto the floor. Between wires, wood and possibly the most broken tiles he'd ever seen in his life, he could faintly see a hole going through to the floor below.

Everything was ready to collapse at any given time. The teen turned, looking down the two perpendicular hallways to see it looked different to the ground floor. The walls were once painted a light grey, but presently featured chipped paint, damp and even mold in some places. The doors to the patients rooms were far more secure than the ones on the first floor, only featuring a small grid for interacting with those beyond the door, as opposed to the barred doors downstairs. He assumed the floor was for the higher security patients, or that potentially as floors increased the security levels did too, which made more sense. As much as he wanted to dig deeper into the former establishment and explore the higher floors, the absence of actual stairs was keeping him from doing so. Yet he did recall Johnny saying he had been watching them enter from the third floor.

Mark looked back down the hallway he had came from and felt a chill overrun his body. Every shadow seemed to be haunting, creeping up on him at every step he took. He heard a door slam, and without second thought shot forward from where he was standing. Once again he found himself running, though he was certain the slam was just from the wind. It didn't make sense for any of the patients to run so far into the dangerous side of the building, and he'd counted most presences on his rounds. Yuta and Johnny weren't in their rooms. That meant two of the three most dangerous patients in the building were running loose somewhere; Mark had no idea where.

He didn't doubt for a second that they would strike if given the chance, and what better place to do so than the area they weren't allowed? The thought made adrenaline flood through his veins. They wouldn't find his body there. He was making himself panic and it didn't help that he collided with something or someone, and from the floor he stumbled up, running back towards the staircase. He cursed quietly hearing running behind him, feeling an extra push to run into the nothingness he was heading towards. He was sure he could hear his heart pounding within his chest.

"Wait!" he heard a familiar voice shout among the steps and breathing, causing him to freeze in his tracks.

"It was you?" Mark groaned in a mix of irritation and exhaustion.

Taeyong stood before him trying to regain his breath, "I tried to tell you that it was me, but you ignored me."

"Oh, I must've not heard you over my panic. Don't chase me!"

The patient's neutral expression faltered into a frown, "sorry."

"You were chasing me the entire time?" asked the teen.

"At first I wanted to just scare you, but then you ran. But I turned back when you crossed the no line."

"The no line?"

"We aren't allowed past the hanging light."

"But you're here now."

"I thought the others would get you so I came back."

“Let's just get back to the room. It's creepy over here,” said Mark.

Taeyong began to walk back in the opposite direction, and the teen hesitantly followed. The walk was quiet and eerie. Mark noted how the elder looked around to every slight noise, and somehow felt like they were both just as on edge. The crumbling of rubble and the gentle wind had never felt so peaceful. They'd rather that than screaming or heavy footsteps. The halls felt endless, as though every step they took was one step closer to their inevitable demise. Dread filled Mark's body at the slightest sound of the rodent invaders scurrying across the ground. Taeyong paused—furrowing his eyebrows uncertainly—and turned to his caretaker.

"Something doesn't feel right," he spoke quietly, "I don't think we're alone."

Mark shuffled in unease, "that really doesn't help my nerves."

"Would you prefer I stayed silent when we could be in danger?"

The teen fell silent. Taeyong looked around.

"Johnny? Yuta? Is that you?" he asked, "Am I just imagining things?"

"Let's just go. Nothing good comes from lurking around..."

After seconds of hesitation, the patient turned to face the hallway ahead of them and continued walking. It was obvious to Mark that something was on his mind. But in that moment all he could think about was returning to the safety of the main room. It remained one of the sole spaces of habitation for the patients. He knew they wouldn't attack in there unless he did something first. As they grew closer to the first floor staircase, noises in the distance became more prevalent. They stood on the last step as Jaehyun shot out of his room following a loud thud. Ten peeked his head around his door too. They both noticed. At first, Mark thought it could have been Johnny and Yuta fighting.

But then Yuta emerged from the main room. They all shared glances of confusion.

There was the sound of metal colliding with the ground, and Taeyong pulled Mark behind him as they cautiously walked down the hallway. As they turned the corner, the teen shone the light forward to see a man lying lifeless on the ground and beside him was a knife. A figure stood lurking over him, stepping back. They could hear the figure's heavy breathing.

"Who are you?" asked Yuta from behind the teen.

The figure's breath hitched in surprise. Mark was in shock as Taeyong stepped towards the scene before them.

"Are you deaf? Answer the question."

The distraught figure slowly turned, his hands held out and coated in a fresh layer of crimson. Blood seeped from a gash on his arm. He pulled his hood down and the patients fell silent.

It was Kun.


	14. Cold Blood

"Well isn't this an unpleasant surprise?" asked Yuta as he watched Kun pace backwards and forwards in the hallway, "I never took you for a killer."

"I'm not a killer!" he exclaimed.

"That body tells us otherwise."

Mark was still shaken and tore his gaze away from the body. Taeyong crouched beside the body and held his hand under its nose before running his hand across the neck, "would you look at that, he's already losing warmth. You killed him."

Kun looked away.

"What happened?" asked Mark hesitantly.

The other caretaker seemed to hold his breath as if to stop his rushing emotions from taking over, "I came back to check on you. It was your first time staying here overnight, and I know that the others can get a bit rowdy. He was here. He started threatening me and cut my arm. I managed to take the knife, but he ran at me—"

"It was an accident?"

"I wouldn't purposefully stab somebody!"

Taeyong and Yuta made eye contact before the former grabbed the man's arm and began dragging him.

"What are you doing?" asked Mark, taken aback.

"Do you want the others to find out? Taeil will freak out."

"I can't lie to them," said Kun.

"You're not lying, you're hiding the truth they don't want to hear," Yuta added.

Mark started fidgeting as he heard the dragging of the weight on the ground. He felt like he wasn't freaking out enough. But he'd seen countless bodies before, it wasn't as though the building wasn't ridden with them. Kun was holding back tears as he sat on the floor leaning against the crumbling wall. The blood on his hands had begun to dry. The reality hit them both—as the only ones with unclouded minds—like a ton of bricks. Yet another death. This time, it was a caretaker. Not a patient, like you'd expect. There was another body going to rot in there. Somebody must have loved him, and he was taken away.

"What will you do?" asked Mark, sitting beside Kun.

"Aside from being haunted for the rest of my life? I don't know."

The two patients talked as they pushed the body into a room and closed the door. Mark didn't know if he should comfort or condemn Kun. After all, somebody was dead. As the elder wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, the teen sighed.

"I shouldn't have taken the knife," Kun muttered.

"Then you'd be dead," said Yuta, "and we'd be next."

"But he has a family—"

"And so do you."

The patient's words made him burst into tears. Mark awkwardly pulled the elder into a half hug, as to not get smothered in blood, yet still attempt to comfort him. He caught a brief glance of Taeyong glaring at them, but that was the last of his worries. He didn't know if he could hide what happened from Taeil.

"This is the last thing I ever thought would happen," Kun sniffled.

Jaehyun and Ten curiously walked down the hallway as they heard the familiar voice. They were waiting for the others to investigate and deal with whatever was going on, but they didn't think one of the caretakers would return before sunrise. Upon noticing Kun's state, Ten ran towards him and knelt beside him. Mark moved away, walking over to Taeyong who just huffed and walked away. Confused, the teen followed him.

"What? Why are you acting angry?" he asked.

Yuta snickered from behind them and Jaehyun's gaze followed Mark as he and Taeyong disappeared around the corner. The patient began to walk faster, frustrating the other further.

"Is it because I was comforting Kun?"

"I'd hardly call _that_ comforting."

"Are you jealous?" asked Mark.

Taeyong abruptly stopped walking and turned around. The glare that met the caretaker's eyes was potentially the most malicious gaze he'd ever received. He gulped.

"Why the hell would I be jealous? You're just another Taeil."

Mark furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't know why that hurt like it did; he was just a replacement. He frowned but was distracted when he saw Jaehyun walk past.

"Go on, that's phase one. Sink your teeth in further, you already hurt his feelings," he heard him say.

Before he could play it cool saying how he wasn't hurt, Taeyong lunged towards Jaehyun and the latter was punched before he collided with the wall, with the elder's hand firmly gripped around his neck.

"Taeyong!" Mark shouted, rushing over.

He grabbed onto the patient's arm attempting to pull him away, but Taeyong was determined, a cold gaze fixated upon Jaehyun as he struggled to break free. Mark was concerned seeing the latter fighting for air and pulled harder.

"Let go!"

Taeyong pushed the teen away, making him stumble backwards. Mark almost fell before he was pushed up by somebody behind him and he heard a sigh. He was surprised to see Johnny walk over to Jaehyun's side and just _stare_ at the attacker. He scoffed, stepping forward before he shook his head.

"Drop it," he mocked, gently slapping Taeyong's face.

Unsurprisingly enough, the younger patient's eyes averted to Johnny and his grip loosened before he turned to see Mark staring at him with wide eyes and tore his hand away. Jaehyun coughed aggressively, rubbing his throat. 

"See? That violent haze is always there. You can't control who you let it out on," he said.

"That much to prove a point? That's some dedication," said Johnny as he turned away.

Instead of facing the issue at hand, Taeyong turned and ran further down the hallway. He soon disappeared out of the door and into the enclosed garden.

Mark sighed, "don't do that again, that was dangerous."

"I was doing it to protect you from him. You should be thanking me," Jaehyun replied.

The teen scowled and walked away. He thought the best thing he could do was go after Taeyong and talk it through. Sure, his heart was pounding excessively and he trembled at the thought of walking around outside at that hour, in the pitch-black garden filled with overgrown bushes and trees. Worst of all, the patient was out there and in a questionable state.

It was cold as is, but being exposed to the outdoor chill with only a thin jacket to shield him, Mark shivered. He heard twigs snapping in the distance and briskly turned towards the sound. Taking careful steps to not alert Taeyong _too_ much, he continued forward trying to ignore the feeling running up his spine telling him to retreat back to the main room and wait for the elder to return on his own accord.

He gulped through a surge of adrenaline and pushed branches from his path, “Taeyong?”

He was unsurprisingly met by silence and it put him more on edge, shining the torch through the trees. Through the silence of the night, everything seemed far louder. The trees roared in the wind and the teen could faintly hear running water. After some scanning of the area, his eyes caught glance of an outline of a person in the darkness. As he progressed closer it became obvious it was Taeyong, sat by a small pool of water which Mark had only just realised. It was shallow, and the once powered mini-waterfall was running weakly.

The patient was crouched against the wall with his legs tucked tightly up to his chest. Mark couldn't help but think he looked far smaller than usual. He slowly walked towards the elder and crouched down in front of him, “are you okay?”

Taeyong seemed taken aback, lifting his head slightly to look at the teen before him, “that's what I should be asking you.”

“It was only a little push, I'm fine.”

“Really?”

Mark nodded, “I wouldn't lie to you.”

The saw the elder smile a little before he rested his head back down on his knees, “I take back what I said before... about you being Taeil's replacement. You mean more to me than just being my new Taeil.”

“Thanks,” Mark smiled.

He wasn't really sure if he meant it, but he accepted it either way. He was unsettled by the gaze Taeyong had fixated on him, feeling the elder's stares. The teen had his eyes on the ground, trying to avoid making eye contact. Giving in, he looked up to see the patient looking at him from behind the crossed arms resting on his leg. He blinked, unbothered by the returned gaze.

But Mark looked away, feeling half uncomfortable and half unsure of that was going through Taeyong's head. He heard the latter chuckle and furrowed his eyebrows, “what?”

“You look cute when you're nervous,” the elder said quietly.

Mark's eyes widened and he stood up, “it's cold, let's go inside.”

He began to walk away, but hearing no movement from beside him, he turned around. Taeyong shook his head.

“I like it out here,” he added.

The teen sighed, crouching back down. It was uncomfortable, but he didn't know what bugs would be on the ground amongst the scarce grass. He was just losing balance as the patient chuckled again.

The latter patted the space beside him and moved closer to the water feature. Mark sighed but moved there, after all, it'd be easier to lean on the wall. But he was taken aback when Taeyong shuffled closer to him, resting his head on the younger's shoulder and moving his arm around his waist.

If it was anybody else, Mark would've violently thrown them away from him. But it wasn't; it was Taeyong. He didn't know why the elder was different, but he wanted to keep him close. He rested his head on the wall behind him and held his arm over Taeyong's. Mark felt the patient move closer, but he didn't mind.


	15. Making A Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place several years before the story.

The wind was gently colliding with the wooden barn's wall, letting in a breeze from the partially open door. Hearing voices, Taeyong opened his eyes, shuffling up against the stack of bales. Beside him, the dogs noticed his absence beside them and turned around. He could hear the front door creak among the sound of the sheep out in the fields and the goats beyond the hay. Pushing himself up from the straw-coated ground, Taeyong peered through a gap he'd made and watched as a silhouette walked past the barn door.

The dogs were indifferent, sitting by his side as he turned back around, sighing. He reached out for the eldest—a border collie—and ran his hands through her long coat. Wagging her tail, she licked his face, to which he giggled and tried to move away. They heard a thud from outside, and the dogs were eventually alerted, running straight around the hay bales, growling. Taeyong looked out again, waiting as the voices grew closer and the dogs barked excessively. Somebody unfamiliar had to be there. He felt hungry. He hadn't eaten anything significant in three days, instead, he was making the most out of what he could gather from the garden. His mother hadn't been visiting him. He was sure she had begun to hate him too, just like his father.

Footsteps grew closer and Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows. Two men in suits walked into the barn, the three dogs following behind them, growling with unease. They were looking around, and he could see his father lurking around by the door. Taeyong maneuvered his way over to the side of the bale, looking around to the men who seemed to be looking for something. As they grew closer to him, the dogs' growling grew louder, and when one of the men's eyes set on the boy peeking around the corner of the hay bales, he paused in his tracks. Taeyong moved away quickly, being spotted by the stranger. The men began to talk, and he heard his father cursing.

The crunching of the straw on the barn floor was followed by the two men looking to the back of the barn where Taeyong was crouched in the corner, looking at them with genuine fear on his face. The dogs ran to his side, guarding him. The closer the men got, the further the dogs stepped back. As the other two continued to growl, the eldest ran to Taeyong's side, sitting beside him. With her head hung low, she let the boy cling onto her, hiding his face in her fur. The men seemed to lose interest, turning away.

"Take Mr Lee to the car, call animal control and look for the nearest hospital. There's no way that this child is healthy—he's all skin and bones. This will be a long night."

As one man ran out, grabbing onto his father, Taeyong lifted his head from the collie's back and watched as he struggled. His father's gaze met him as he resisted against the suited man, gritting his teeth and glaring hatefully. He pushed the man away and scowled, "this is all your fault! You're useless! That's why your mother is dead!"

Taeyong understood, all right. A lump started to form in his throat and he gulped, clinging onto the eldest dog. She could tell he was upset, and the other two rushed to his side. The man watched from beyond the hay bales as the canines swarmed to the small boy's side. He hated that they'd have to be separated. It looked like they were all he had.

He slowly began to walk closer to the huddle of dogs and the human boy in the corner, staying low. The growling grew as he stepped closer, and Taeyong shuffled. He began to tremble and pushed himself further back into the barn wall. He was completely pressed against the wall when one of the dogs—the youngest, a nine-month-old Australian Shepherd—stepped forward towards the man. His growling subsided as the man held out his hand.

"It's alright," he said quietly, "I'm here to help."

Taeyong glared at the man as he continued to get closer with the dogs' eyes locked on him. The boy continued to run his hand through the collie's fur, attempting to calm both of them. When the eldest dog stepped forward to investigate the man, the barn door opened and the other man returned. The extra presence set back the process as the dogs moved back.

The second man brought out a blanket and some food. He crouched beside the other, frowning, "they're on their way. Because we're out in the middle of nowhere, it'll take a while."

"The storm will begin in a few hours, we need to get these four out of here and get the livestock moved."

The newly returned man looked back at Taeyong, "hey little guy, why don't you come out?"

"This is severe neglect. The poor kid won't last long. He's terrified."

The second man sighed, moving closer. After moments of contemplation, he reached out for the dogs and tested their reactions.

"You stay here, I'll go in from the side," the first man whispered.

The dogs didn't know where to look when one of the men moved over to the other side, slipping past the bales to kneel beside them. Though the collie growled quietly, the other two stayed quiet, curiously sniffing at the men. They knew they weren't going to attack. They were protecting Taeyong, trying to scare the men away.

But the younger canines began to realize that they weren't there to harm them. Taeyong still had his arms wrapped around the eldest dog, looking at the men in fear. He didn't like it—they were getting far too close for his liking.

"What's your name?" asked the man from the side, "Is the man we took away your father?"

He was met with a blank stare, and he saw the thin boy tremble. Both men were perplexed, they'd never seen any situation like the one they were in.

"We're here to save you, you need to trust us."

The man was taken aback when one of the dogs shuffled forward and whined before it started licking his hand. The collie growled, guarding Taeyong. Both men made eye contact before they both stepped forward. All three dogs were watching carefully, but as they got closer, the growling grew quieter. Taking a risk, the first man reached out to stroke the collie.

It was obvious the canine was tense, but she began to lay down on the floor. Taeyong didn't understand why they were trusting the men. He would've ran if given the opportunity. He froze as the man leaned forward, taking the blanket from his partner, and wrapped it around him. Taeyong looked at the man with wide eyes, but shuffled away as soon as the latter moved away.

He heard more cars and looked around in surprise. The two younger dogs ran past the men and began to bark, rushing to investigate. But the collie stayed by the boy's side. One of the men left and the sound outside of a vehicle door opening and people talking filled the area. Taeyong grew tense again. People dressed brightly walked into the barn, both staring at him.

"Any information from Mr Lee?"

"We've yet to question him-but I think he's around nine or ten."

"We'll need to take him to the hospital. If he's been out here for a while, it's possible he's got underlying illnesses and we'll need to do a full examination."

"Good luck with that, he's a mute, and he seems to be part of the dogs' pack. They're trusting, but he's terrified."

Taeyong clung onto the blanket as the people moved around him. The dogs soon returned, surrounding the boy again. The medics and the suited man turned and moved away—still waiting for animal control to arrive—and waited by the door.

Noticing their absence, Taeyong lay down on the cold ground, resting his head beside the eldest dog's head. The other two lied beside them. He expected the people to leave. He thought they'd lost interest, but he was wrong.

• • •

Everything was fine, at first. Taeyong hid under the covers of the bed every time the door opened, not wanting anything to do with the staff. The only place they could think to send him—at only ten years old—was the orphanage. Constantly visited by doctors, it was an on-off process of deciding what to do with him. They hadn't seen anything like him. Four years later, they hadn't made much process. He was reluctant to let down his defenses.

After years of hesitation on his doctor's behalf, they made a decision. Nobody could handle him. He began to act up, started responding violently and often attacked the staff. So, they decided to send him to a psychiatric institution and simply treat him like the other patients. They thought they could alter his behavior through more physical methods.

It wasn't as though he could communicate with them very well. He was too busy being destructive to learn how to speak at the level they wished for, expecting him to be fit for society or at least a lower-security caring facility. He refused to learn anything. Over the span of four years, he progressed from having frequent panic attacks and overall acting incredibly depressed to turning violent.

His doctors were terrified of him. If they weren't being bitten, he was searching for anything to hit them with. After he stabbed his lead doctor with a needle full of sedatives, they were granted permission to not only try shock therapy but were _ordered_ to keep him restrained all other hours of the day.

Taeyong couldn't take it. He wanted out. His therapy became almost unbearable, and after sustaining a self-caused traumatic brain injury, he was sent to the white room. It gave him time to think. He was going to escape, no matter what. Soon, the high-security ward grew quieter and quieter. People were leaving. He had his chance.

His doctor locked him in a room with a knife, and, after seeing several times how self-destructive Taeyong was, he expected him to end it. The doctor had realized they weren't alone, and investigated. He had to check on his patient, thinking he'd have been long gone. But he was wrong, and before he could react, there was a knife pierced through his abdomen.


	16. A Normal Day

Mark had long woken up when the door opened and Taeil shuffled into the room with food for the patients. After the events in the garden, Taeyong returned to his room to sleep—after some prompting from the teen—and the patients were all locked away for the night. They had freedom until midnight, and then they had to be contained to avoid any escapes or injury. Kun went home, and Mark was unsurprised that he didn't show up at the asylum the next morning.

"Was everything fine?" asked the eldest, setting down the bag of supplies, "I would've stayed, but I had an essay to complete."

"Nothing too out of the ordinary."

Well, it wasn't a _lie_.

"Good. If you'd have been put off, it would make this summer difficult," he replied.

Mark handed the elder the keys to the patients' rooms as he began to unpack six containers. It amazed the teen how the others spent so much money caring for the incredibly needy patients, considering that they certainly didn't have much money themselves. Taeil dragged over the small locked storage box, unlocking it to reveal several different types of medicine.

"It'll be quiet here today. Xiaojun and Hendery are staying in their shared apartment with Yangyang, Kun's ill and Sicheng will be late. It's just us for a few hours."

"Taeil, can I ask you something?"

"You're curious, I like that about you."

Mark chuckled, "well, do you think they can change?"

"Is this about Taeyong?" the elder asked, "Has he done something?"

"No— It's just a general question."

Taeil didn't seem to believe him, but shrugged, "anybody can change. It doesn't necessarily need to be for the good. People can only change by their own will, we can't change them. But for all of our safety, you need to remember that people can hide their true selves. Always second-guess _everybody_ you meet."

That wasn't the answer he was expecting, but Mark nodded. He watched Taeil set two pills down on one container, and one on another. It was only after a closer look that he noticed they were labelled with the patient's names.

"Go and unlock the doors. Make sure you let Johnny out last, though. I need to hide his pill somewhere in his food."

The teen chuckled, nodding. He took the keys and headed out into the hallway, and right away, looking down, he saw Taeyong sticking his head out of the bars at the end of the row. He walked down there first, turning the key only to hold the door shut. His gaze met Taeyong's.

"No outbursts, okay?" said the teen.

The patient nodded. He just wanted to get out, it was already later in the morning than usual and the sun was already glaring through the small window. Mark pulled the door open, letting the elder out, only for him to stay by the teen's side. They then made their way to Ten's room, Jaehyun's room, Yuta's room, and finally, acknowledging Johnny who had been telling Mark to hurry since he opened Taeyong's door. The others all immediately made their way to the main room.

Taeyong was still glued to the teen's side as he checked each room before heading back into the room with the others. The elder walked straight to his corner and sat down, leaving Mark to get his foot from the elder. Taeil passed him two, "you eat too, I'm sure it was a long night."

The patient was happy when he received his food, shuffling closer to the teen as he sat down beside him. Mark had no luck moving away, as Taeyong was persistent and continued to move over. The younger heard Yuta laugh from the other side of the room, and noticed that everyone was looking at them.

"Something's clicked, Taeyong hates it when people get close to his food," the Japanese patient commented.

The elder was ignoring him and simply continued eating. He rummaged through his rice with the spoon Taeil supplied him with—because somehow, he couldn't manage to master eating with chopsticks, or even a fork for that matter—without a care in the world. 

"I bet Taeyong's in love," Johnny commented, earning a less than pleased gaze from Taeil as the others burst out laughing.

Even Ten was laughing, and Mark felt like he'd never seen the elder enjoy himself. The latter turned to see that Taeyong was indifferent and continued eating.

"He probably doesn't even know what that means," Johnny added.

Taeil cleared his throat, "Johnny."

The eldest caretaker's stern voice made the room fall silent. Mark looked down at his food, telling himself that it was just Taeyong's background that made him act the way he did. Surely he didn't feel anything towards him. After all, the teen _certainly_ didn't return those feelings.

"Mark is nice," said Taeyong out of nowhere, "he won't steal my food."

Yuta whispered something to Jaehyun and Mark didn't even want to know what he said to make the latter burst into laughter.

"Alright, no more on this topic. Stop trying to provoke them," Taeil announced.

The teen let out a quiet sigh of relief. He was too tired to spend any longer thinking about what was going on in Taeyong's head, as it—without a doubt—functioned completely differently from Mark's own. He had thousands of questions he wanted to ask him, but after the patient refused to tell him his past, he gathered they weren't _that_ close yet. He was curious about many things.

Mark was glad to see Taeyong eat the last spoonful of his food and, although he'd spilled rice all over the floor, smiled when the elder turned to him to check if he was finished. The teen pointed out some sauce that was on the patient's face and laughed quietly as he wiped it away. Taeyong looked back over at his caretaker as the younger took his container and took them back over to Taeil. 

The patient quickly stood up, rushing over to Mark. Grabbing the younger's arm, he pulled him towards the door. The caretaker mouthed an apology to the eldest. Taeyong was getting increasingly more comfortable with Mark, and he didn't know if that was a positive thing or not. The elder's grip loosened out in the hallway and the teen sighed, "what was that about?"

"I don't want to sit with the others."

"You could've just _told_ me," Mark replied.

Taeyong frowned, muttering an apology. The younger wasn't angry. He just had to accept that he was more do, less talk. 

"What's with you recently?" asked the teen, almost immediately regretting it.

The patient furrowed his eyebrows, "have I done something bad?"

"No, it's not that. You're just being clingy."

"I just like being around you."

Mark nodded, following behind the elder as he walked towards the enclosed garden. He didn't expect such a simple answer but accepted it either way. 

“Can we go outside yet?” asked Taeyong, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

“Not yet, you need to prove that you'll behave when we _do_ visit the outside.”

The elder frowned, “I have been good.”

“You almost strangled Jaehyun to death last night.”

“It was an accident.”

“Sure. You _accidentally_ attacked him.”

Taeyong nodded, “it isn't me, my brain makes me do it.”

“Fine, don't attack anybody and we can go outside soon.”

The patient grinned in success, walking into the garden with a joyous hop in his step. He made his way to the tree he usually rested on, climbing up it so he could sit down. Mark simply watched him, leaning on the tree opposite. He didn't feel like climbing.

He lay back, resting his head on his arms, and the teen laughed quietly, “I think you'll love the forest.”

“Then take me.”

“In the future, I will. For now, you'll have to stay in this place.”

“When we leave, can we stay away from here forever?”

Mark furrowed his eyebrows, “you told me you understood that you'd have to come back here.”

“That was when Taeil fed me, but now you're here, I think I could survive outside.”

“Taeil still feeds you, I don't have money. You have to come back here. Even if you get lost, you have to always make your way back.”

The elder frowned, sighing, “at the end of the day, I'm still caged.”

Mark didn't like seeing the patient sad, but he knew it was for the best. He wouldn't survive a minute out in the world, and the best place for him was shielded from reality in his own little place.

Even if he saw that place as hell.


	17. Wounded

Mark climbed back into the window, fixing the board back in its place before he walked through the hallway. He'd spent the first half of the day with his friends, after all, he had to act normal to them. 

As he walked through the hallway, he looked at the closed door. He couldn't help but think of the corpse on the other side slowly rotting. He sighed and continued walking, turning around the corner. Every time he returned to the building, the walk seemed to get shorter and shorter. He wasn't jumping at any slight noise, checking every room and being incredibly careful to be quiet, making the journey to the inhabited area much quicker. He ignored most abnormalities.

As he was walking towards the main room, he saw Taeil standing outside. He looked worried. Mark had told him he was coming over message, but he didn't expect him to be waiting and run over to him the second he noticed him.

“Something bad happened,” said the elder, his gaze looking between Mark and the ground, “it's a little complicated—”

The teen looked down the hallway to see people swarming by Taeyong's room and immediately ran past Taeil. Pushing through them, he saw Kun kneeled beside the patient with several bags of different supplies.

Mark furrowed his eyebrows as he saw Taeyong's absent-minded eyes on him. The latter had blood dripping down his forehead. Behind them, Taeil tried to clear the other patients from the door. Eventually, only Yuta and Jaehyun remained, and Taeil hurried into the room.

“What happened?” asked Mark, somewhat in disbelief that the elder ended up in such a state _while_ he was supposed to be monitored.

“We found him like this. Everybody thought he was outside, but all morning he's been wandering around looking for you. He didn't believe us when we told him you'd be late. He thought you were in danger,” the eldest replied.

Taeyong avoided Mark's gaze as the younger looked down at him, instead turning towards Kun. The elder wiped the blood from his forehead, searching from the injury it originated from. It didn't take long when he pushed back the patient's hair and revealed a gash and several small cuts running along the top of his forehead. As Kun cleaned around them, Taeyong flinched at the contact, trying to move away. 

“No climbing for at least a week, I hope you know that. If you get disoriented and fall we'll have to take you to a hospital—”

The patient immediately shook his head, sitting up from the floor. He hurried into the corner of the room—behind Mark—and crouched down, “you can't take me there!”

He seemed to grab his head in pain and the teen stood up without second thought, “shouldn't we just focus on keeping him safe? Scaring him won't help.”

“Do you have the time to spend all hours of every day by his side?” asked Taeil, “Do you know how long head injuries like this can last?”

“Taeyong, come and sit down. I'll finish cleaning you up and then you can go, okay?” said Kun.

The patient nodded, slowly walking back over to the caretaker's side. He sat down on the cold concrete floor, but not without grabbing Mark's hand and pulling the teen to sit down. The latter simply looked at him with a pitiful expression as Taeyong preoccupied himself playing with his hand.

“No hitting your head. Be careful, and don't do anything too strenuous. No running.”

He nodded as Kun ran an antiseptic wipe across the wound, flinching slightly at the stinging. When he was certain the wounds were clean, he took out an adhesive bandage and stuck it over the main wound and gently tapped it in place. Rummaging through the bag, he took out a small container of pills and grabbed a water bottle.

Kun took a pill out and handed it to Taeyong. He put his hand behind the patient's head as the latter put the pill in his mouth, and, leaning his head back, poured a small amount of water into his mouth.

“Gone?” asked the caretaker, and the elder nodded.

He moved away from Taeyong and continued to observe him momentarily as he clung onto Mark's hand.

“What won't you do?”

“Climb, run or hit my head.”

“Good. I don't want to clean any more blood off of the walls in here, okay?” said Kun.

Taeyong nodded, and the caretaker began to collect his things. Taeil looked somewhat relieved in the doorway seeing how the patient was mostly indifferent.

“Mark, can we talk for a second?” said the eldest.

The teen nodded, taking his hand from Taeyong, and walked out of the room. Taeil sighed, leaning against the wall.

“He's got a concussion, so you'll need to pay attention to him while you're here. This isn't out of the ordinary. With him, Johnny and Ten, we're always dealing with injuries. Kun's the head injury guy, so he'll check him every few days. You just need to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I'll stay tonight because he can't sleep for twenty-four hours.”

“So, just watch him?” asked Mark.

“Pretty much, and I'd appreciate it if you could come here first thing tomorrow.”

The teen nodded, “I will.”

Satisfied, Taeil left. Taeyong was simply lying down in his room wrapped in a blanket that Kun left for him. He smiled when Mark walked in and sat up.

“Why did you do that?”

The patient's smile immediately faltered, “because I thought I'd scared you away.”

“You didn't, I just had to see my friends,” the teen replied.

“I'm not your friend?”

“My other friends.”

Mark sat down, but Taeyong immediately shuffled over to him. Seeing the teen looking at him, the patient furrowed his eyebrows.

“Can you... not sit so close to me?” asked the former.

Taeyong frowned and moved away. Sitting in silence, the elder was shaking his leg as he looked at the ground, seemingly in a world of his own. Mark's gaze softened and he sighed, leaning against the wall. He didn't mean to be cold to the patient, but he was beginning to realise just what he was doing almost every day of his life, sitting in an abandoned asylum with somebody who had _clearly_ become dependant on him.

Scratching into the floor with a stone, Taeyong occasionally looked over to Mark. He was relieved that their eyes never met and smiled as the teen looked around the room. Ignoring a spell of dizziness, the patient continued to secretly admire his caretaker.

Mark wouldn't have made it obvious that he was _completely_ aware of Taeyong's staring and was simply ignoring him. The elder soon looked away and stared nonchalantly at the wall. Countless long minutes of silence passed, with each of them unsure of what to say. It was almost as though they hadn't known each other at all.

It seemed the silence was making the patient fidget incessantly. Mark had noticed over time that those actions were reserved for when they were sat in silence and if he'd been keeping his distance from the elder. He assumed he was simply nervous in silence, being used to the others' loud talking and arguing.

When Taeyong changed how he was sat and began to tap his foot on the ground while staring into space, Mark decided it was probably better if they didn't have to sit so quietly and let out a sigh. “Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn't I be?” asked the elder, playing with his slender fingers.

“Oh, I don't know, because you slammed your head against the wall until it bled?”

He was met by silence and immediately regretted how he'd responded.

“Sorry, that was insensitive. I'm worried that you're becoming too dependant on me.”

Taeyong sat in a crouch position and wrapped his arms around his legs, simply looking at the teen.

“There's a chance that we won't be able to see each other once I graduate, I'll be busy.”

The elder's eyes widened, “you're going to leave me?”

“I don't want to, I'm just... being logical.”

“I don't want you to leave,” the patient whined, “why can't you stay forever?”

“Forever is a... strong word.”

But he knew he couldn't stay away if he wanted to. Something—much like the day he returned—was pulling him in. He didn't even want to leave for the night on several occasions.

“I'm not saying I'm going to leave you. I just don't want you to be _too_ sad if I do have to go,” Mark replied.

Taeyong frowned, “that's too late.”

“Let's just live in the present, okay? I don't have any intention of leaving.”


	18. Unnecessary Meddling

Doyoung was growing worried about Mark the more the latter was practically avoiding seeing his friends. It had always only been the four of them since they met, and the younger wasn't exactly the type to go out and make friends.

Even if he did, he'd actually tell the others.

Mark was the type to tell his friends _everything_. So because it was blatantly obvious that he was hiding something, Doyoung had formulated two undesirable situations that the younger could've gotten himself into. The first was that the bullies had gotten into his head and that they'd enslaved him. He doubted that one more since Mark was stubborn.

The second one scared him more. He'd noticed the younger's fascination with the people living inside of the old asylum when they were in there. Doyoung knew the facility's history in and out. He had told his parents about the whole endeavour and had received possibly the longest lecture he'd ever sat through from them, including an in-depth lesson on the asylum's past.

His mother _was_ in the psychology field, after all. She knew what happened. She told him how patients were abused, neglected and even killed in the worst cases. Staff had been killed by the patients, too. The workers weren't trained to the modern standards and they continued to use harmful methods of treatment after it's outlawing. Of course, she'd also mentioned the most famous story from there. About how it was supposedly haunted by the restless spirit of a patient. Lee Taeyong, the canine boy. He already knew the story anyway.

Recalling the story _terrified_ him. If Mark was drawn in by the people there, he could end up injured; or worse. Doyoung had considered asking his friend outright, but he figured he'd never answer truthfully.

So there he was, stood clenching his bag strap in front of the infamous asylum. 

He drew a breath, attempting to slow down his violently thumping heart. It was only mid-day, so he assumed he'd be safe. He packed supplies into his backpack as a precaution—food, water, a torch and most importantly, his father's swiss army knife—and, following an uncertain walk and excessive hesitation, he decided to risk himself for Mark.

He'd hate himself if something bad happened to the younger which he could've avoided, and after witnessing first-hand just how the people inside treat outsiders, he didn't want _anybody_ to fall victim to those crazy people.

If Mark wasn't inside, Doyoung was planning to at least ask somebody politely if he'd been there recently. But he'd probably just run instead. He wasn't as brave as the former.

He gulped as he made his way to the window, dragging his feet through the strands of long grass still drenched in the morning's dew. He could've sworn he heard talking right then. He hurriedly pulled the wooden board from the entrance before he could change his mind and pulled himself through the window, landing on the other side with a light thud and the crumbling of the shattered glass beneath his shoes.

Doyoung couldn't help but feel relieved that there wasn't immediately a corpse on the ground, but somehow he could still faintly recognise the scent plaguing the air. Through every cautious step, the atmosphere seemed to grow dense. He was overrun by an overwhelming urge to run. The stories were getting to his head. He didn't believe in ghosts, but he felt watched. That didn't help his scepticism.

The right-turn at the end of the hallway made a chill run through his body. Something could easily run right for him. Without Jungwoo by his side, it felt far more unnerving than before. He could hear something from above, and after momentarily clenching his eyes shut in fear, he forced himself onwards, looking around the corner slowly. The hallway was long, and he remembered not getting more than a few steps along before they came face to face with Mark and one of the inhabitants.

He was about to turn around the corner when somebody walked out of one of the rooms. He didn't know who, but he did know it wasn't Mark and that he wasn't about to take a chance to ask them if the latter was there. He pressed his back against the wall, fighting his urge to run toward the exit as fast as possible. He didn't think his heart could go any faster—yet somehow, it did—and covered his mouth in a panic.

He was _so_ stupid.

He knew what they were capable of, yet he went back. He should have trusted Mark enough to ask him directly. Instead, he put himself in an incredibly dangerous situation. Too caught up in his panic, Doyoung hardly noticed the footsteps growing closer to him. His neck snapped in the direction of the hallway as he saw a figure approach, and he could've sworn his heart stopped beating for a moment.

Instead of running, he made eye contact with the stranger. Recognising his fear, he placed his finger over his own lips and pushed Doyoung further down the hallway. The latter was dumbstruck. He thought he was definitely dead.

“Who the hell are you?” they asked quietly.

“D-Do you know Mark Lee?” Doyoung managed to say, making the stranger furrow his eyebrows.

“Ah—” his breath hitched. “You're one of the ones who came looking for Mark and that other guy.”

“Is he here?”

“Slow down,” he said, “name?”

His eyes wandered, “Doyoung.”

“I'm Jaehyun. You're lucky I found you, and not the others.”

“Please just tell me if he's here, and I'll leave—”

“No need for that,” said Jaehyun, “come with me.”

“W-What?”

Doyoung was taken aback when the other grabbed his arm and started to drag him down the hallway he once emerged from. He was still terrified, but the aura of Jaehyun was relatively indifferent from the average person. He didn't feel like he was in grave danger, but he didn't know if that was a good thing.

“Be quiet and don't leave my side,” he said, as though he didn't have his hand gripped around the outsider's wrist.

Doyoung didn't know what else to do but silently comply. He was paying minimal attention to his surroundings, as though he had tunnel vision only on his new acquaintance. His eyes were on him like a hawk. Mostly out of fear.

Jaehyun paused in front of the door to check that it was completely closed before he dragged the outsider further into the building. He knew where he was going—he wasn't just stalling him. He was going to give him what he wanted. That being Mark, of course.

“Where are we going?” asked Doyoung quietly.

“You'll see.”

It was an understatement to say he was confused as the other pulled him outside. He looked around, his eyes scanning everywhere that he could see. It was a yard.

Jaehyun stopped to look around, specifically in two places. He let go of Doyoung and walked towards a huddle of trees. The latter followed closely. He could soon recognise two figures from among the trees, and as he wandered to his acquaintance's side, he furrowed his eyebrows.

He was unsure if his eyes were deceiving him, but one thing was for certain—that was Mark.

He was unsurprised the younger had returned to the asylum. But he didn't expect him to be hand-in-hand with somebody, especially not one of the inhabitants.

But most shockingly of all, was that the two's lips were connected.

Doyoung turned to see Jaehyun gawking. He soon burst out laughing, alerting the unaware pair kissing against the wall. Mark's wide eyes met his friend's. They both looked as surprised as each other. The younger glanced between the two onlookers and a very confused patient.

“Doyoung?” asked Mark, unsure of what to say.

He looked at Taeyong again, and the elder looked down at the ground.

“I'm—”

Before he could speak, the teen caretaker had stood up and was pacing with his head in his hands. Doyoung simply sighed.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, “Have you forgotten that these people are dangerous?”

“Wait, Doyoung. My thoughts are everywhere right now.”

Jaehyun was struggling to stop laughing, looking over at an incredibly red Taeyong.

Mark placed his fingers over his lips and looked over at the embarrassed patient. They'd been sat talking when the elder had grabbed his hand and sat staring into his eyes uncertainly for an insanely long minute. The teen was too lost in his thoughts to react until he felt Taeyong's lips on his.

“I can't believe he actually did it—” Jaehyun cackled.

He was met by Mark's bewildered expression, “you _told_ him to kiss me?”

Doyoung was really confused. _More_ than confused, actually. He was trying to take everything in. Mark had been kissed by the same person who was pretty much threatening to attack his friends a few months earlier.

“He came to me for advice, so I gave him advice,” Jaehyun smiled. “You're welcome.”

“Advice?” asked Mark, turning to Taeyong. “What is going on?”

Instead of replying, the latter got up to his feet and began scrambling over to the door. Not quick enough, however, as the teen grabbed his arm. Ignoring his squirming, Mark gulped as the elder avoided his gaze.

“I don't know,” he replied quietly, “everything is confusing me.”

The caretaker's grip loosened. He hated how he was feeling. His heart had raced as Taeyong leaned closer to him, and he'd had the urge to run his hands through the strands of the patient's hair and pull him closer. Just thinking about it, Mark shuddered.

It wasn't right.

“Just... go and see Taeil for now,” he said, “I have to deal with something.”

Taeyong looked disheartened as he walked away with his head hung low, making his way to the door. He looked back before he disappeared around the corner. Mark turned to Jaehyun with an almost murderous expression on his face.

“Why did you do that?” he asked sternly.

“Relax, it was just some fun.”

“You're going to confuse him.”

“I think you'll find _you_ are the one confusing him,” Jaehyun replied, walking towards the door.

Mark was relieved to see him leave, but turning back to Doyoung, he kind of wished that he could find a way out of _that_ situation.

“Are you gay?”

“Is that seriously your first question?”

Doyoung sighed, “look, I don't care who you want to be with. But I thought you'd at least choose somebody less... insane.”

“He's not insane, he's just troubled.”

“You sound exactly like my mother.”

Mark simply looked at him, and the elder shrugged. He hated the look of pity on the latter's face.

“Why did you come back?” he asked.

“I don't know. I guess I just felt bad for them. I wanted to help.”

“It's harder than you thought it'd be?”

“Yeah,” Mark replied, “far harder.”

He looked down at the ground and kicked around some grass. He was expecting Doyoung to shout, as he just had that parent-like personality. But he didn't, and that left him unsure of what to expect from him.

“Be honest, did you like that kiss?”

The younger groaned, “no.”

_“Seriously?”_

“It's not right. It doesn't feel right.”

“How so? Is it because he's a guy, or something else?” asked the elder.

“It's a lot of things. But yes, mostly because he's a guy. It's fine with other people, but not me. It feels wrong.”

“Are you sure you're not just mixing your feelings up?”

Mark paused, “I thought you didn't want me to get involved with them?”

“You've already done that,” Doyoung sighed, “I'm just trying to help you.”

“Well, I don't know. It kind of surprised me. I noticed him acting strange but I didn't expect that.”

“If you don't like him, tell him.”

“It's not that—” he groaned in frustration, “I don't know!”

The elder shook his head. “You _do_ know. You're just not happy with the answer.”

Mark sighed. Somehow, Doyoung was always right.


	19. Double Trouble

"That's not the case. I don't see him like that," Mark spat, and Doyoung shook his head.

"You're impossible to work with."

“I don't need you to act like a therapist to me. I can handle this myself.”

“Fine, I'm _still_ not exactly happy with your little crush on a complete psycho—”

“It's not like that!”

“Okay.”

Doyoung laughed at the stern look on Mark's face. He held back his urge to shout at the younger and proclaim how stupid he was for trusting the people in the asylum, he didn't want to strain their friendship when it was already obvious he was _very_ close with them.

"You didn't actually tell me why you're here," said the younger, "how did you know _I_ was here?"

"It was obvious. I saw how you looked at them when we were here. You've been distant lately, and you did come to school covered in cuts from whatever they're doing to you here."

"They didn't do anything, it was an accident while cleaning up glass."

"So, you're one of them now?" asked the elder.

Mark hesitated, "I guess. You're not angry?"

"You're not a child. I won't be able to convince you to leave here even if I tried to, so instead, you have to tell me _everything_ , okay? Do you trust me?"

He nodded, and the elder grinning in success.

"Good, now get me out of here before I change my mind."

"I'm surprised you even came in. You're scared of everything."

"Don't push it."

Mark laughed, leading his friend over to the door. At the back of his mind, he was worrying about facing Taeyong again. But he knew he couldn't stall Doyoung. He would definitely freak out if anything happened and Taeil would completely flip if he knew somebody else was inside. He just hoped the patients kept quiet about the presence. The building was abnormally quiet—for being midday—and it almost seemed _too_ peaceful.

_Almost._

But not for long.

Hearing a shout, Mark's eyes widened. He turned to Doyoung who had obviously heard it too. The elder's look of surprise certainly mirrored the younger's own. He was more confused as to where it came from. All of the rooms were empty in the main hallway, and nobody was sat in the "communal" room. That was the worst possible news. They were near the entrance. 

"Shit," the younger muttered, running.

Doyoung furrowed his eyebrows and ran around the corner behind his friend. He had no idea what to expect, seeing a crowd of people gathered. He recognized Jaehyun and some of the others from the last time, but in that moment he didn't particularly care who was there; as they were all overrun with the stench of a decaying body. 

"Who was it?" Taeil asked, raising his voice.

Mark looked over to Kun, noticing how sleep-deprived the elder looked. He was avoiding looking at the corpse at all costs, staring over at the door. Taeil looked furious. He looked across the group of patients, and the teen could tell he was trying to examine their expressions and single out who it was. But Mark realized that not everybody was there. Taeyong and Johnny were nowhere to be seen.

"Mark? Why is _he_ back?" asked the eldest, looking at Doyoung who was covering his nose.

"It's a long story—"

"I'll hear it later. For now, Ten, Jaehyun and Yangyang go back to the room. Kun, you watch them."

The caretaker left as fast as possible, pulling Ten away from the scene and making sure the other two were following. He made eye contact with Mark, who was as unsure of what to do as him.

"Xiaojun and Hendery, can you go and look for Johnny and Taeyong? They'll probably be upstairs," said Taeil, sighing, "and Mark, you need to stay here. But your friend should go. But you can't tell anybody about this. _Please_."

Doyoung would've said something, but the desperation in the elder's voice just made him nod. He'd rage at Mark later instead. He sent a gaze to the younger, and walked past the eldest staring at the ground. He felt like he was going to throw up. He knew one thing for sure; he wasn't going back there ever again. He tried to push back the thoughts that he was breathing in the same air that a corpse was decaying in. He couldn't have left the building any quicker, running away from it without looking back.

On the other hand, Mark was unsure if he should have just told Taeil then and there that Kun had accidentally killed somebody who was trespassing. He knew the other caretaker would get an earful when was already drowning in guilt. Yuta stood also pondering the same thing. Sicheng stood by the eldest's side, his eyes practically glued on the wall beside him.

"I'm really disappointed. We were doing _so_ well. I hate that I thought they'd changed," Taeil sighed, "I guess I just didn't look hard enough."

They continued to wait for Xiaojun and Hendery to return with the missing patients. Mark distracted himself from thinking about the person mere meters from them by kicking some rubble around on the ground. He clenched his eyes shut, accidentally seeing the man's leg in the other room. He hated how they were just standing around the door. It felt illogical. But he assumed it was to attempt to guilt trip the patients into telling them who did it. Mark felt horrible for keeping his knowledge from Taeil.

He found his eyes trailing over in the direction of the room. He gulped, catching glimpse of him again. The image of Taeyong dragging the body into the room replayed in his mind, and he sighed closing his eyes again.

"Mark, are you okay?" asked Taeil, obviously seeing him, "Wait, stupid question. You're not as used to this as us. I'm sorry, you can go—"

"No, I'm fine. I'll stay."

"Are you sure?"

Hesitantly, the teen nodded. He'd have to just ignore it, or pretend it isn't there. He couldn't leave all of the work to the others. What use would he be then?

But Mark couldn't help but think about how Taeyong hid the body without second thought, how Kun was lying to Taeil and how he just let it happen. He also could've sworn the body was at the other side of the room, not in the immediate sight of somebody who simply opened the door. That's when he looked over, slowly stepping further down the hallway.

That was also when he saw a hand. A bloody and—quite obviously—broken hand. It almost looked like it had been hit repeatedly with a brick, or a similar sort of object. That being said, he could still make out the long, blue painted nails through the blood.

At first, he thought his eyes were deceiving him. But he eventually realized they weren't. That was a second body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :)  
> Here's another (short) update because this is my favorite story that I'm writing right now. Things are about to get crazy.


	20. Born Killers

During their wait, Taeil closed the door. 

Mark was in a panic as he saw Taeyong and Johnny approaching. Scenarios played in his head. He tapped his foot on the ground, lost in thought. He looked at Yuta, and then to the two approaching. He noted how Johnny turned his nose up at the scent and pretended to throw up, and how the younger patient looked completely indifferent. Surely it wasn't him.

"Go on. Make this quick. It was obviously one of you," said Taeil, "I don't want to lock you all in your rooms for a week."

Yuta immediately scoffed as the eldest assumed it was them. He was met by Sicheng's disappointed gaze and fell silent.

"It wasn't me," said Johnny.

"Me neither," Yuta replied.

Mark turned to Taeyong, expecting him to follow in denial, but the latter was simply staring at him. His eyes were empty and cold, staring right into the teen's soul. He forgot that it wasn't only the two of them at that moment, staring back at him.

"Well, Taeyong?" asked Taeil, reminding them both of the situation at hand.

"It wasn't me."

Johnny scoffed, "I bet it was. You hesitated."

"Yuta, go back to the room," said Taeil.

The eldest patient looked in disbelief, "I'm not in the clear, but _he_ is?"

The Japanese patient walked away smirking. He lived to annoy Johnny.

"So, what didn't you do?" asked Taeil, "I didn't mention what happened."

"You always bring us here like this when somebody's done something," said Johnny, "I assumed."

The eldest caretaker shook his head.

"I have good senses," said Taeyong.

Taeil sighed, "if none of you did it, who did?"

"You said there were people lurking around. Maybe _they_ did it."

"I doubt it."

Sicheng looked just as annoyed by the lack of cooperation from them. Taeyong was barely paying attention and Johnny wasn't much more helpful.

"Maybe they don't actually know?" Mark suggested, making the other two carers look at him.

"No. Somebody is hiding something from us," said Taeil, "and I will find out, I always do."

Mark held back from his urge to spew out all he knew right then. It was killing him to keep something from the people who trusted him, he felt unworthy of their trust. But Kun also trusted him. He should tell them himself.

Taeil allowed them all to return to the room, and they were all immediately engulfed in silence. Kun looked around, obviously making sure nobody had taken the blame and were locked away. The eldest was also scanning the room. The body was fresh, meaning somebody had to show some evidence. Rigor mortis seemed to have only just set in on the woman's body. But he was confused as to how and when exactly she was killed. She was drenched in blood and her hand was severely crushed, while there were no other immediately noticeable factors. It didn't make sense that nobody heard her, either. Unless whoever did it somehow took her by surprise or muffled her shouting.

The thought made him shiver. 

Of course he knew what he was getting into when Johnny brought him in there. He'd seen the bodies, he knew they could kill. He thought he could stop them. But there was one thing he knew for definite when he first stepped foot in the asylum; he was going to change them, no matter what. Or he'd die trying. Being a psychology student, he was intrigued by them all. Initially introduced to Jaehyun, Taeyong and Yuta, he loved to see how the three interacted. They took Taeyong—who was evidently unpredictable—under their wing and taught him how to live. 

"I'll ask again, who killed those people?" he asked.

There was a tense silence, with the only sound being Yangyang drawing in his notebook in the corner. He noticed how some of the patients eyed each other up, possibly suspecting each other. He wasn't a detective, but he knew enough about body language from his psychology classes to realize that everyone was on edge. Taeil looked at Kun, worried. He knew the latter was having a hard time with something, but he was never the type to spill all of his problems. He just assumed it was about his family. He looked worn out. What made it worse was that he'd seen Kun taking some sort of medication on several occasions when they stayed overnight to observe Taeyong because of his concussion.

"I have a good idea of who did it," he added.

Yuta let out a quiet laugh, "are you looking at the right group of people?"

Taeil furrowed his eyebrows, "what?"

"Why do you always assume it's us? Is it because the system sees us as killers? Look around you. Every person in this room has the ability to _become_ a killer."

The others were listening quietly, anticipating Taeil's response. Kun, however, sat with wide eyes. He grabbed his hand to stop it from shaking and gulped.

"Some of us are born killers, but you know what? Anybody can become a killer," Yuta continued.

"Thanks for the fancy speech, but that doesn't actually help me," Taeil replied.

Mark could see the relief on Kun's face as he looked over.

On the other hand, the eldest caretaker was confused. Was he referring to Ten, Jaehyun and Yangyang, as they were seen as peaceful? They didn't have what it took to kill somebody. Ten wouldn't harm a fly, Jaehyun had a—though mostly tamed—fear of blood and Yangyang was practically glued to either Hendery or Xiaojun. Or... would they?

**~**

Mark sighed. Hours had passed since the bodies were found and Kun still hadn't confessed about the first body. The teen doubted he killed again, giving the way he was still acting. But it was true that he could just be really good at acting.

Taeil had summoned him and Sicheng to a different room, obviously to get a better idea of who could have done it. He looked at the two other caretakers and sighed, “this isn't good at all. Somebody's urges have came back and we need to play detectives to find out who. I bet they're laughing at us in secret.”

“Since you brought us here, I'm assuming you think it's one of our patients?” asked Sicheng.

“Of course. The body is new, I've determined that they were possibly killed midday. The only people who weren't in the communal room around that time was Yuta, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Kun and Mark. Oh, and the friend—”

“Doyoung.”

“—Yeah, him.”

“How are you sure Jaehyun is innocent then?” asked Sicheng.

“Do I even have to answer that? He's never killed before, he'd at least show some sort of reaction.”

“Jaehyun and Taeyong were outside with me just before we grouped up,” said Mark.

The eldest furrowed his eyebrows. “Why didn't Taeyong come with you?”

“He came back inside beforehand—”

“When?”

“About twenty minutes earlier.”

“That isn't _just_ before,” said Taeil, “he's still a suspect. He easily could've came across somebody in here, killed them in twenty minutes and not show any remorse whatsoever.”

“He isn't completely heartless,” Mark defended him, and the eldest shook his head.

“No, but he's a great at lying.”

“What about the first body? Were they both killed at the same time?” asked Sicheng, changing the topic before the two could disagree.

“No. The man has been dead for a while, he's already showing signs of decomposition.”

Mark tensed at the mention of the first body. His memories seemed to continuously creep into his head at the worst possible moments.

“Any estimation for _how_ they were killed?” asked the Chinese caretaker.

“The man had a stab wound, but I couldn't see any external damage on the woman for the blood. I assume she was also stabbed. I don't want to disturb the bodies if I can avoid it.”

“Yuta told me he was looking for Jaehyun when he left earlier, but that doesn't protect him from the blame, does it?”

The eldest shook his head, “no way. With Yuta's past I wouldn't stop suspecting him unless somebody was with him.”

“He didn't come outside,” Mark added, “surely that would be one of the first places to check.”

“There's another thing; none of them had blood on their clothes. The woman was definitely killed violently. Yuta was with us right after we found the body, he wouldn't have had time to go upstairs and change.”

“But Taeyong and Johnny would have,” said Sicheng.

“Johnny always disappears for a while. I hate to say it, but he could have easily been away when the man was killed too. But he isn't a killer, he's violent, but he's never killed anybody before,” Taeil replied.

It made Mark think. Though Taeil and Sicheng wouldn't have suspected Kun, he was away at the time and has also killed before. He didn't think it was him, but he didn't want to erase the possibility completely. He didn't want to blame him.

“I'll look around more. I might find the discarded clothes, a weapon or the exact method of killing. Both of you can go back to the room. Keep your eyes on everyone,” said Taeil.

The teen was relieved. He hated just standing around, especially when he was unsure of who to suspect. He wanted to question Taeyong himself, but facing the elder would be difficult when he thought he'd done something wrong.

As he separated with Sicheng he peeked into the room only to see the elder wasn't there. He made eye contact with Kun, who seemed to realize what he was doing.

“He left. We couldn't get him to stay,” said the latter.

“I'll look for him.”

He noticed how all of the patients looked at him as he was stood by the door, and it made a chill run through his spine. Somebody did it, he just didn't know who.

Before Mark could turn to walk in the garden, he heard footsteps from the stairs. He immediately hurried over, looking up them from around the corner to see Taeyong walking down. He hadn't noticed him.

“Taeyong, can we talk?” he asked suddenly, taking the elder by surprise.

“I'm sorry,” he muttered quietly, looking down, “I shouldn't have listened to Jaehyun.”

“It's fine, he tricked you.”

Taeyong paused to think. “No, he didn't trick me. Jaehyun wouldn't trick me.”

“He told you to—”

“He _suggested_ it. I went through with it.”

“Why?” asked Mark, “It's not something that friends do.”

The elder was obviously trying to preoccupy himself, picking at the paint on the wall. “Because my heart wanted it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you think killed the woman? I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	21. Some Kind Of Confession

Mark didn't know what to say. He was simply gawking at Taeyong, trying to ignore the feeling of his heart pounding in his chest.

" _He just wanted to try it. He's probably never kissed somebody before_ ," Mark told himself.

Taeyong stared back at the teen, expecting a reply. But when he failed to gain one, he sighed, looking down. The younger's eyes were wide as he tried to force words out. It was as though he forgot how to speak.

"Uh," he managed to say, just as the patient turned to walk away, "d-did you like it?"

"Why are you nervous?"

Mark could feel his face heating up and shielded himself in his hands, "I don't know what to say. I've never been in this situation before."

Then it hit him. He hadn't _really_ been kissed before either. Jungwoo being dared to kiss him on the cheek didn't count. His hands dropped. He had approached him for a reason.

"Did you kill her?"

Taeyong sighed, and it was evident he was disappointed how the younger moved on without hesitation. He didn't know why he'd gained the confidence to not run away when Mark approached him, but he gathered they were both as nervous.

"No, I didn't."

"Really? Where did you go before?" asked Mark.

"That's a secret," the elder replied, "but I really didn't kill anybody."

"You know that sounds incredibly suspicious, right?"

Taeyong looked up at the teen, "of everybody, you should trust me."

"I know," Mark sighed, "but I don't want this to go unpunished. It's wrong."

"Taeil's punishments don't work. Nobody listens."

Mark's mind was still preoccupied with thinking about the kiss and how Taeyong actually did it on his own, he wanted it. It was killing the teen. Infecting his thoughts and pushing everything else out. He needed to focus on finding the killer, not thinking about how the patient's lips felt on his.

“Are you done?” asked Taeyong, “Any more questions?”

“You didn't answer one of my questions.”

“I didn't?”

“Did you like it? The kiss.”

The elder smiled and nodded softly, “I did.”

**~**

Sat back in the room, Taeyong was resting his head on Mark's shoulder again. The latter was too worn out by everything that was happening to object, and even ignored how the patient grabbed his hand out of nowhere.

Everything was quiet. The teen occasionally spared glances at Kun, who looked like he was simply trying to distract himself by talking to Ten. Taeyong laughed to himself seeing Yuta clinging onto Sicheng as though his life depended on it.

The door was pushed open and Taeil looked in, a serious expression plastered onto his face. He looked at Mark, then to Sicheng.

“We need to talk,” he said, “now, preferably.”

Taeyong moved to allow Mark to leave, though disappointed, and slouched against the wall.

On the other hand, Yuta refused to let go of Sicheng even then. “Stay here.”

“He can't Yuta, this is important,” said the eldest.

“You're _endangering_ him.”

“By talking to him?”

Sicheng tried to loosen the elder's grip on him and sighed, “I won't be long. Just wait for me.”

“You're obsessive,” Johnny remarked, earning a glare from the Japanese patient.

He eventually let go and turned away in a sulk.

“Let's go?” asked Taeil, and the two caretakers followed him.

Once they were out of the room, the eldest seemed to relax, but he still dragged them far from the room, checking for anyone following them.

“I took another look at the corpses,” he said quietly, “there _are_ stab wounds on both of them.”

“So they... were killed by the same person?” asked Mark hesitantly.

“No. Probably not. The woman's injuries look far more premeditated, it wasn't just a random stab. But that isn't it, I found chain marks around her neck.”

“Chain?” asked Sicheng.

Mark was just glad Kun hadn't lost it and stabbed anybody else.

“I suspect Yuta and Taeyong are to blame, but of course, sometimes I'm wrong. Unless somebody admits, I don't think we'll figure it out.”

“We shouldn't assume,” said Mark, “I don't think Taeyong did it—”

“It's not an assumption, it's an educated guess. Those two are the most likely and you know it,” Taeil replied, “I'll continue to observe them, but I need to get a confession out of somebody.”

“I guess,” the teen replied.

As they were about to return to the communal room, they heard shouting and Taeil immediately ran back in that direction. They reached the hallway in time to see Kun storming out of the room. Looking back, he made eye contact with Mark, who looked at him with wide eyes.

He looked into the room to see Jaehyun holding Ten back from running after him, and Hendery stood up. He assumed he was the recipient of the outburst.

“What happened?” asked Sicheng.

“I asked Kun where he was earlier and if he saw anything, but he completely freaked out,” Hendery replied.

“He's just stressed, don't take it personally,” said Taeil.

Yuta scoffed, “right, that's all.”

“Why are you all acting so weird lately?” the eldest sighed, “And where is Johnny?”

“Upstairs, again.”

“He's always wandering around. Maybe you should suspect him instead,” said the Japanese patient.

Mark just looked back out to the hallway. Kun seemed to have headed upstairs, so without a second of thought, he walked over, ignoring Taeil's shouting at him to leave Kun.

He walked up the stairs half expecting to hear the elder telling him to leave, but as he reached the top of the staircase, he could only slightly hear Kun somewhere near. Unsurprisingly, it sounded as though he was crying.

Mark couldn't imagine how he was feeling. He didn't _want_ to either, he doubted he'd be able to understand. He looked around, realizing that the older caretaker was down the hallway that the teen had never been down before. As he looked, he noticed that the windows weren't actually boarded up—many were smashed, though—and looked out to the garden.

Kun was sat against the wall among shards of glass. Mark's eyes were struggling to adjust to the extra light flooding through the broken windows, but he paused to observe the elder for a while. It took a while for the teen to realize that Kun wasn't crying.

It looked like he was laughing.

His lips were curled up into a grin, but he covered his mouth in an attempt to suppress the sound. Mark stepped back, unsure if he should proceed. He didn't know why he wanted to run so badly, but when Kun looked at him in surprise, he felt as though he died right there. The latter immediately stopped smiling once he saw him, standing up from the ground.

The glass shattered beneath his shoes, stepping closer to Mark. The teen was frozen; even if he wanted to run so desperately, he couldn't. Something wasn't right. Kun looked broken. He breathed unevenly, taking in slow and careful breaths. He stopped in front of the younger, staring uncertainly. His eyes were abruptly torn from the person in front of him and instead settled behind him. Before Mark could turn around, he saw somebody rush past from the corner of his eyes and punch Kun right in the face.

The elder looked back, wiping blood from his nose. Mark immediately snapped out of his trance and saw Taeyong stood beside him, clenching his trembling fist.

“K-Kun?” asked a familiar voice, “Why is Yuta saying that you killed somebody?”

Taeil. Mark turned around faster than he could even think to see the eldest stood beside Yuta, who was looking as smug as usual.

Kun collapsed onto the ground after seeing his friend stood at the end of the hallway, he looked down to avoid acknowledging the eldest's presence. Taeil walked over to the former and grabbed his shirt, forcing him to pay attention to him.

“Why? Why couldn't you tell me?” he asked, and it was obvious that he was swallowing back his emotions, “Aren't we best friends?”

Not wanting to witness the sappy talk, Yuta had already left. Mark was unsure if he did the right thing, but it was obvious that Kun wasn't in the best state. He didn't know what could've happened if it wasn't for the patient's actions, and then, of course, Taeyong's—pretty unnecessary—assaulting of Kun.

“You're not well, Kun. I don't know what's going through your head right now, but, you _can't_ do anything like that ever again—”

“I saved them,” he replied, “If I hadn't done that, they'd all be dead.”

Taeil nodded, “okay, but that doesn't make it right. Come on, you have to explain to the others what happened. I want to know everything you know about the second murder, okay?”

Mark felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders as the eldest led Kun away. He could relax. He hadn't even felt that intimidated being chased through the building by Taeyong, or even when he was attacked by Johnny.

He leaned on the wall, letting out a sigh of relief. Taeyong was looking at him with a concerned expression, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, “I can hit him again—”

“He didn't, you probably stopped him from doing anything.”

The patient was silent, but Mark looked up to see he was proudly grinning.

“That was terrifying,” he added.

Taeyong's clenched fist eased, and he began to lift his arm from beside him. Awkwardly, he itched beside his eye, clearing his throat. Mark furrowed his eyebrows at the elder's actions. Taeyong reached out for the teen's face, though hesitantly, and placed his hand on his cheek.

Mark just stood as still as possible, at first he was taken aback, but he couldn't stay surprised when the patient was just _standing_ there.

He guessed it wouldn't be that bad to take matters into his own hands, even if it was probably going to backfire on his embarrassment. He quickly pecked at Taeyong's lips, not bothering to even maintain contact for less than a millisecond.

“That's my thank you gift,” he said, “treasure it.”

Instead of replying, the elder leaned forward, resting his hands on Mark's shoulders instead of standing doing absolutely nothing again and connected their lips. It took a moment, but eventually, the latter kissed back.

But Taeyong abruptly tore his lips away and smiled, “you're welcome.”


	22. A Break In The Ice

After the gentle silence walking down the stairs with Taeyong, Mark was taken aback by the uproar inside of the communal room. They immediately heard sobbing inside, and the elder turned around, grabbing Mark's arm, "can we go and wait outside for them to figure this out?"

"This is everyone's issue, you know."

"I don't do well with people who are crying. It's too loud."

The teen sighed, "fine—"

"What have you been doing?" asked Taeil, peeking out of the door, "Get in here, we're having a group meeting."

Taeyong groaned but was still dragged inside by Mark. Kun was sat in the middle of the room with Ten beside him, while everybody else was scattered around the room. They sat in their usual place, waiting for somebody to speak.

"Right, shall we continue?" asked Taeil, "You really didn't kill the woman?"

Kun had his arm around Ten, who was the source of the wailing and rubbed his arm to calm him down. "I didn't. I was upstairs."

"Any proof?" asked Johnny, "I think you're secretly a serial killer and have been tricking us all along."

"Don't be stupid," said Ten quietly.

"That's his speciality," Jaehyun added.

"Nobody was with me, but I do know that there were four people outside at that time. I saw them from the window."

Mark's heart sank. He didn't want anybody to find out about the whole kiss situation, especially not Taeil who would probably react worse than Doyoung. Kun turned to look at him, and the teen immediately tensed.

"Shouldn't that be enough? Do I need to say more?"

"Fine, I'll accept that," said Taeil, "but I'm still concerned about your mental state right now. From what I saw, you were about to do something _else_ before we confronted you."

Ten looked up at Kun, shuffling away, "were you?"

"No, I wasn't. I was going to do some confronting of my own, actually. Well, something like that," he replied, "more like a warning."

"About what? What were you going to warn Mark about?"

"I saw Taeyong wandering around with blood on his hands around the time you believe the woman was killed. But he attacked me before I could say anything."

Eyes averted to the aforementioned patient who furrowed his eyebrows, "I placed my hands in glass by accident."

He showed his hands and there was a series of cuts scattered across his palms. Mark grabbed his hands and looked closely, checking for any protruding glass. "You never said anything about this."

"Because you were busy."

"He hides injuries to protect himself," Johnny joked, "like a rabbit or something."

"That's not exactly the best alibi," said Taeil, "where were you?"

"The ladder to the between-floor. There's probably still blood up there if you need proof."

"The between-floor?" asked Mark.

"That's his term for the space up there," said Jaehyun pointing up, "where the ventilation and heating systems are."

Mark thought he knew the building as well as he could, but apparently, he didn't know much at all.

"I was in the between-floor the entire time, and that's where those guys found me."

"He's telling the truth. He hides really well," said Xiaojun, "we found Johnny easily, but we were looking for a while to find Taeyong."

Taeil turned to Kun, "no other leads?"

"No," the younger sighed, "what are you going to do to me?"

"Kill him," said Johnny, only to receive a—somewhat—gentle hit from the eldest.

"You'll be treated like a patient from now on. You'll be locked in one of the rooms like everybody else is when something happens."

"We don't have any spare rooms that are safe enough for inhabiting and clean," Sicheng noted.

"That's why during the day he'll be locked in Ten's room—"

"What?" the patient exclaimed, "Why mine?"

"You'd rather put him with the others?" asked Taeil, "Not that you act like any more than friends, you _are_ a couple."

"That's not a strong enough punishment!" said Johnny, "They'll love it, and God knows what they'll get up to at night—"

"Please shut up, Johnny."

Mark couldn't help but laugh a little, despite how serious the conversation was.

"You don't have to sleep in a very much _not_ soundproof room every night. I can hear Jaehyun's snoring and he's two rooms away from mine! Ten's is right beside me!"

"Maybe you should keep that in mind too," said Taeyong, "I don't even want to know what happens in your room. You're filthy."

Taeil covered his face half in embarrassment and half in frustration, "all of you, be quiet!"

He looked at Mark who was already crying with laughter at that point and shook his head.

"Back to the point at hand," said the eldest, "Kun will be locked in Ten's room for a week, and at night, I want silent halls. Okay?"

"You don't have to ask, they would be anyway," Ten replied.

“Good. There's still another body in there that nobody's owned up to the killing, I'm going to figure this out one way or another. That means, if possible, I want a full force tonight.”

“Even us?” asked Hendery, “Yangyang doesn't really like sleeping here.”

“Fine, you three can go to your apartment as usual. But Sicheng and Mark, I'd like you to stay.”

Mark inhaled sharply, “that might be tough.”

“Your parents?” asked Taeil, “Can't you say you're staying out with your friends again?”

“They keep on getting suspicious, but I can try.”

**~**

After successfully convincing his mother to allow him to stay out, Mark slumped down against the tree outside. Taeyong was in his usual place, lying across the branch with his arms tucked behind his head. He didn't quite get the elder's obsession with being outside, but he did agree it was relaxing. Except for the thought that bugs could be crawling all over him as he sat among the grass.

“Can I ask you something?” asked Taeyong, turning to look down at the teen.

“Go ahead.”

“Do you think of me the same way that Taeil thinks of Johnny?”

Mark hummed in thought, “you mean, like, love?”

“I guess.”

“I don't know, honestly. I've never even thought about this myself. But Doyoung asked me, and he's convinced I'm just not ready to accept it.”

“You don't want to feel like that?”

“No— I mean... yes?” the teen said in an uncertain tone.

“Is it complicated?”

Mark nodded, “very.”

He heard shuffling behind him and looked back as Taeyong jumped down from the tree and sat beside him. Something about the golden sunlight which peered through some of the unboarded, broken windows of the upper floors into the garden made the patient somehow look more attractive to Mark. He caught himself staring and looked away before the latter could turn around.

“I don't know much about what other people feel, but you're different from everybody else,” said Taeyong, “I feel safe with you, and you don't judge me for being a little bit odd.”

The teen laughed gently, “a little bit?”

“I want to understand what is going on with me. I want an explanation of _why_ I feel the way I do. If I can understand this emotion, I think I can try to adapt better.”

“Why don't you tell me _what_ exactly you're feeling then?”

“By the sound of it, you don't understand your emotions either,” Taeyong chuckled, “should we help each other?”

“How?” asked Mark, raising an eyebrow.

“Let's be honest with each other and share what we're feeling. You understand more than me about all of this.”

The teen looked up at the gradually darkening sky. “Okay. I think that could work.”

“But for now, what do we do? If none of us is sure, do we act normally?”

Mark was about to reply when he heard twigs snapping beside them, he looked to see Jaehyun stood there, and the latter gave them a weird look. “Taeil's brought food, come and eat.”

“Always at the worst possible times,” Taeyong muttered.

“Oh, and Mark, don't be playing with his feelings,” said the other patient, “or I _will_ hit you.”

“I wouldn't,” the teen replied.

“Don't hurt him either.”

“I won't.”

“Jaehyun, stop it,” the elder whined, “you're overreacting.”

**~**

Mark hadn't even realized how the sky turned black in a matter of hours after eating. They sat inside for a while, but when it eventually turned nine and he got the all-clear from his parents allowing him to stay out for the night, he and Taeyong made their way out of the communal room and into the hallway. They passed by Ten who was talking to Kun through the door, and eventually, the teen paused.

“Where are we going?”

“Outside,” the patient replied.

“It's dark now, though.”

“Is it? Already?” he frowned.

Mark nodded. “Why don't we just stay inside for tonight? If you wake me up first thing in the morning, we can go outside.”

“Then, let's just sit in here.”

He walked into his room, pushing the light aside for more space. Every time Mark was in there he couldn't help but wonder how Taeyong could sleep on the cold, hard stone floor every night with limited covers. Though it evidently wasn't a five-star hotel, he thought they should at least have some soft surface to sleep on.

“It'll be quiet here until the moon is right up,” said the patient, “then Taeil will probably lock the doors and we might hear the others.”

“Can you count?” asked Mark and Taeyong scoffed at him.

“Of course I can.”

“But you can't tell the time?”

“Do you _see_ any clocks anywhere anyway? Even though I can't see much in here, I can guess the time depending on where the sun or moon is. I used that method before the people brought me here.”

“When you lived with your family?”

Taeyong hesitated, “if you call living in a barn living with my family, then yes.”

“Was it tough?”

“I can't remember much. I only remember little pieces of what happened.”

“I guess those memories are better gone, right?” asked the teen.

“Yeah,” said Taeyong, “you're right.”

Mark slid his arm around the elder, pulling him closer to allow him to lean on him. He honestly had no idea where his confidence came from, but feeling the patient's head resting on him he felt a kind of relief. It was all he could do, especially after asking about the past. He looked in Taeyong's direction, raking his fingers through the strands of his soft black hair, while the latter practically hugged his arm.

“We can replace those memories with better ones,” said the teen softly.

He had _no_ idea what was getting into him. He thought about what Doyoung had said, about how he wasn't happy with the answer he'd been looking for. But watching Taeyong's content expression and small grin, he realized he was happy with it. He didn't mind the thought of spending his life with the elder, even if it wasn't what he was expecting from his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has your opinion on who killed the woman changed? I'd love to hear your thoughts!


	23. Scattered Suspicion

Taeyong woke up to see the door to the room shut, leaking in sunlight from outside. He'd slept better than he'd possibly ever slept in his entire life. He could feel Mark's soft breaths on the side of his neck, and an arm draped over his waist, but he didn't want to even open his eyes. He thought if he did, then it would all be gone. It could have all been one long dream; or all his imagination. Mark could've been torn away from his grasp and they would never meet again.

Still with his eyes forced shut, he turned onto his side so they were facing each other. He gathered Mark was still asleep, carefully moving the teen's arm from around him and instead intertwined their fingers, pushing his fingers down with his free hand. The caretaker seemed to stir in his sleep, but aside from clenching his hand himself, he did nothing. Taeyong opened his eyes and was met with the relief that Mark was still there, pouting cutely in his sleep.

He wanted to reach for his face but didn't want to wake him up. He'd been awake longer than the patient who was already falling asleep while the younger ran his hands through his hair, and eventually fell asleep soon after as Mark's illuminated phone screen filled the room with light. Taeil must have locked the door afterwards, as Taeyong wasn't awake to witness it.

He didn't know just how long it was going to be until Taeil let everybody—minus Kun—out of the rooms, nor did he even know what time it was because of the lack of windows in the room, but he wanted to stay there forever. He wasn't sure how things would progress. That feeling of everything being out of his control was eating away at him, but he didn't have any experience with those emotions that were plaguing him in Mark's presence. He couldn't take control even if he wanted to, as he'd have no idea of where to go with it.

The teen beside him was beginning to wake up, so, surprised by the movement, Taeyong turned away from him and fixed his eyes on the wall. It wasn't his intention to have the younger think he was asleep, he just didn't want to be right in Mark's face when he opened his eyes. Hearing the latter shuffle forward before feeling his arm return to its prior place over his waist, the patient turned around, surprising the teen and prompted him to tear his arm away.

"You were awake?" he asked with wide eyes.

Taeyong could tell he was embarrassed, watching the younger roll onto his back. "of course I was."

Ignoring how the elder laughed and smiled brightly, Mark shut his eyes. He'd already gathered that the patient was the clingy type, as the aforementioned snuggled into his side without a care in the world. He did find it relaxing, but hearing the gentle colliding of metal growing near, he knew that Taeil was on his way. Pushing Taeyong away from him, he sat up.

The elder certainly looked confused, furrowing his eyebrows with a look of surprise on his face. Taeil soon looked through the bars and just raised an eyebrow at how Mark—very poorly—folded the blanket.

"It's time to eat, then we'll continue investigating."

They'd both be lying if they said they remembered that there were still bodies rotting away in the other hallway. It completely left their minds; they were too busy in each other's company to spare a thought about anything else.

They made their way to the communal room to find the others all taking their food from Sicheng. Yangyang, Hendery and Xiaojun had already returned, with the youngest whispering to his caretakers looking in the latest arrivals' direction.

Upon getting their food, they sat down like usual. Yuta was harassing Johnny by throwing stones at him while Jaehyun looked trapped in his thoughts, stirring circles in his food. It was quieter than usual. Mark noted how Ten looked completely miserable without Kun by his side, eating quietly against the front wall.

"I hate to disturb mealtime, but we still need a second confession," said the eldest, "if you confess now, I'll consider not extending the punishment time."

"I'm unsure as to why you trust that Taeyong isn't lying," said Johnny, glaring in the younger patient's direction, "we all know he's completely mad. Why wouldn't it be him?"

"You're always running around the building, but Taeyong is with Mark. It sounds like you could be the killer," Yuta replied.

"And what about you? I guess you wouldn't because you're convinced Sicheng is in love with you-"

"Johnny—for what seems like the hundredth time—please shut up," said Taeil, "or you'll be locked away for annoying everybody."

Johnny paused. "Will you be with me?"

"No. I won't even _look_ in your direction."

The second oldest fell silent. Yuta simply scoffed at him and returned to eating.

"I'll give whoever it was until midday to confess. After that, your punishment will be two weeks long," said Taeil.

Mark had a feeling that nobody was going to confess. He had no idea who it could be, and it seemed Taeil was in the same position. They all ate quietly, observing each other carefully. The tension was making the teen feel awkward, and all-knowing gazes from Jaehyun seemed to catch Taeyong's attention. They soon all finished, but Yuta was the first one to stand up, pulling Sicheng up in the process.

"Where are you going? No wandering around until I know who killed that poor woman," Taeil sighed.

"For some peace," the Japanese patient replied, "I'm not going to kill him, am I?"

"Taeil, it's fine. I asked him to come with me," said Sicheng.

The eldest furrowed his eyebrows, "if it's you, fine. I trust that you won't betray us all."

They left, and the oldest patient turned to Taeil.

"One already betrayed you, I don't know why you're trusting them," said Johnny, but he didn't seem to simply be causing trouble for the sake of it—he seemed concerned. "Those two, too. The silent kid's drawings are looking pretty violent these days. What if they're hiding something from you?"

Taeil looked over to Xiaojun who sighed. After talking to Yangyang quietly, he took the book from his grip and handed it to the eldest.

"I saw it yesterday. He left it open while eating."

"He wouldn't hurt anybody, you know that—" said Hendery.

"Everyone knows that. He's just being influenced by what's happening," Jaehyun defended the youngest patient, sighing.

"Right. It's nothing. This doesn't even incriminate him in the slightest, he was here when she was killed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm ;)


	24. His Obsession

Time flew by, with the sun already setting over the horizon as almost everybody sat in the communal room eating—again—quietly chatting as Taeil cleaned up after the patients who'd finished. He sighed, looking over to the front wall where there had been an absence for most of the day. Yuta and Sicheng still hadn't returned, and even when the eldest had shouted for them, there was no response. He was starting to worry, enough so that he couldn't even finish his food. Johnny seemed to notice and placed his hand on the elder's leg to get his attention.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"I'm just worried about Sicheng," Taeil replied, "Johnny, I think I've figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"Yuta's little speech yesterday, where he said that some people are born killers. I think he was referring to himself. Sicheng must have realized, so he questioned him—" his eyes widened before he shot up to his feet and ran out of the room.

Running down the hallway to where the bodies were, he shoved the door open. Relieved to find only two bodies, he turned around to see the others had all gotten up and followed him. Ignoring them, he pushed through the group to get to the staircase, "Sicheng?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Mark ran over to the eldest. "What's going on?"

"I think Yuta was the one who killed the woman," he said quickly, turning back to the stairs, "Sicheng! Yuta!"

They heard bars rattle behind them, and were met by Kun's cold eyes on them, looking out of Ten's room. "They're upstairs. They've been there since this morning."

Taeil immediately ran up the stairs, with the others closely in tow. Taeyong caught up with Mark; seeing the younger's nervousness, he sneakily slipped his hand into the latter's, only to be met by the teen shaking his head and taking his hand away. Mark barely noticed the eldest stopping and walked into his arm. On the ground were several small splodges of blood, leading down the hallway and out of their sight. Taeil immediately panicked and began to shout for them again.

Xiaojun and Hendery shared nervous glances, following alongside the patients. They were all on edge. The caretakers especially, following the blood for what seemed like an eternity, looking in every room. Taeyong paused, looking up at the light hanging from the ceiling, and stepped back. Mark noticed the elder's presence gone from beside him and turned around to see Jaehyun and Ten were also stood by the light.

"We're not allowed to go any further," said the oldest of the patients.

Johnny had already gone past, wanting to be with Taeil in case something happened.

"I'm going back down, I don't think I can handle seeing any more bodies this week," said Jaehyun.

Ten nodded in agreement.

Mark saw the hesitation as Taeyong looked at the hanging light and back at him, before eventually deciding to proceed.

"You might be in danger," he said, "if Taeil shouts, it's your fault."

Mark nodded, laughing slightly, "okay."

They soon caught up with the others who seemed to be walking exceptionally slow behind the eldest. The blood seemed to be spread further apart from it originally was, and eventually stopped, turning inward at a closed door. It was one of the psychiatrist's offices, meaning there wasn't a window, but when Taeil tried to open the door, it was locked. Yuta must have found the key inside.

Slamming his hand on the door, the eldest gulped, "Sicheng! Are you in there?"

They heard shuffling inside, and surely enough, Sicheng shouted back, but his reply was muffled.

"Yuta! Open the door!" Xiaojun shouted.

"Get away!" the patient replied, "You're all trying to take Sicheng away from me!"

Taeil sighed, his panic growing, "have you hurt him?"

"No! I wouldn't ever hurt him!"

"Who's bleeding?" 

"Me, because you're trying to turn him against me! He thinks I'm going to hurt him."

"Can you let him talk?" asked Taeil.

There was a long silence before Sicheng called out for help, making every cell in Mark's body quake chillingly. Taeyong was listening quietly beside him.

"Yuta, he's scared. Let him out!" the eldest shouted, "We're not trying to take him away from you. You _need_ to stop harming people—"

"That woman had proof that we're in here. She came in here walking around with a camera like she was some hot-shot. She had it coming anyway!"

"That doesn't give you a reason to kill her!"

They heard a thud on the other side, followed by the rattling of chains. The panic on Taeil's face was growing over time. He knew Yuta was incredibly explosive when he was angry, so he had to hold back from outright insulting him.

"Listen, if you open the door, we can talk this through, okay?"

"I'm not opening this door."

"Aren't you hungry?" asked Hendery, unsure of what to say, "Sicheng must be. He needs to eat."

"Then bring him some food, he can eat in here."

Johnny inhaled deeply, his hands clenched against the wall, "open the damn door you complete lunatic!"

"Shut the hell up!"

Taeil covered the patient's mouth before he could say anything. Muttering to him, telling him to be quiet.

"I still have that knife. I'd leave if I were you," Yuta warned, "I can't promise that I won't kill again."

"Fine, we'll leave," said Taeil, earning surprised looks from the others, "calm down, and then we'll talk."

As Taeil walked away, the others ran to catch up with him.

"Are you insane?" asked Hendery, "Sicheng is in there—"

"I know," the eldest replied, "Yuta won't hurt him. I know that for a fact."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The reason he hasn't killed up until yesterday is because of Sicheng. They have an agreement. If he doesn't kill, they can stay together. It's obvious he's obsessed with Sicheng. Now, he's scared he'll leave. So he locked them in together."

**~**

Once Taeil took the other caretakers out of the room to make a plan, Taeyong stood up.

"Are you coming?" he asked, turning to Johnny.

"Where?"

"To get Yuta."

The eldest patient sighed, "only because it's stressing Taeil out, not to help you."

"Fine," Taeyong replied, "nobody tells them where we've gone."

Leaving the room, the younger scanned the hallway, making sure the caretakers weren't in sight. Once he was sure, he ran past the rooms and up the stairs. Johnny followed him, completely unbothered by Taeyong's high energy as he simply strolled behind. He sighed as the younger patient disappeared around the corner. Hearing him come to an abrupt stop, he raised an eyebrow, turning around the corner, he sat that the door was open. Only then did he start running, reaching the door to see Sicheng chained onto a chair with cloth covering his mouth.

Instead of being happy to see them, his eyes widened. He shook his head, his shouting muffled by the cloth as Taeyong reached for him. His face showed genuine fear. As though the patients in front of him were the last ones he wanted to see. When the cloth was pulled away from his face, he was breathing heavily. As he tried to push back on the chair, Taeyong stared at him in confusion.

"Damn, who knew Yuta was into this kind of stuff?" Johnny joked.

"Why are you scared?" asked Taeyong, "We're saving you."

"Don't hurt Yuta, he's just misunderstanding the situation," said Sicheng, "he doesn't mean any harm, I know that now."

"Where is he?" asked Johnny.

The caretaker pointed right, "he ran that way."

Johnny immediately ran out of the room, leaving Taeyong to free Sicheng. After a struggled attempt to remove the chains, he threw them aside and Sicheng immediately ran towards the downstairs. Pushing the thoughts away, he ran after Johnny. Though it took a while for him to catch up with the elder as he was already much further into the building, when they eventually re-grouped, he looked less than pleased. Blood led them in the direction of another hallway, which placed them at the front side of the building. The windows were all boarded, so they didn't have to worry about staying low.

When Taeyong's eyes landed on a slightly larger pool of blood, he knew Yuta had to be near. Unsurprisingly enough, he saw the younger clenching his arm as blood seeped through. He held a bloody knife in his other hand, staring at the wall with a blank expression. He turned to look at the other two patients when he saw them in the corner of his eyes and sighed. They expected him to run, but he barely moved an inch.

"You—" Johnny began, only to be kicked by Taeyong.

"What happened?" asked the latter, moving to sit in front of the youngest of the three.

Yuta rolled his eyes. "Do you mean the blood, or why I'm completely miserable?"

"Both."

The younger forced out a laugh, smiling at Taeyong. But he still looked defeated, even through his grin. 

"Well, first of all, Sicheng cut me. Accidentally, I think," he replied. "But there's something you won't quite understand."

The elder furrowed his eyebrows, "do you love him?"

"Are you _trying_ to cause trouble?" Yuta chuckled, "What I meant is I've made him disappointed in me, that hurts me."

"Who would've thought?" Johnny scoffed from behind them.

"Remember what we taught you?" asked the Japanese patient, completely ignoring the eldest's remarks, "About how killing is bad?"

Taeyong nodded eagerly.

"Well... sometimes your mind goes completely blank, doesn't it? You don't realize what you're doing until you've got blood all over your hands. We can try to stop it, but at the end of the day, we're born like this— or, at least I am. You're more like Kun. You became a killer. Sicheng had faith in me, and I betrayed his trust. He's disappointed in me."

"Tragic."

"So I've made a decision based on what I've been observing," said Yuta.

Taeyong watched him curiously as he removed his hand from the wound and passed the knife over to it. After wiping his less bloody hand on his clothes, Yuta lifted his hand to ruffle the older patient's hair, smiling brightly. That was something he'd done in their first year together in the asylum while he and Jaehyun were still teaching him how to live. Once his hand fell back to the floor, Taeyong turned around, hearing voices growing close. He looked back, seeing Yuta set his hand on the handle of the knife.

The Japanese patient gulped, gripping tightly onto the handle as he turned the blade onto himself. Even Johnny's eyes widened, looking to see how close the others were in a panic. While Taeyong didn't exactly know what the younger was about to do, he did, however, know that blades and flesh don't go so well together. Yuta shut his eyes, slowly pulling the knife closer. He inhaled shakily, trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart. If he was alone, the patient was sure that he'd be able to do it. But he knew that Taeyong was beside him.

Quickly pushing the blade towards his chest, Yuta felt as though the world paused around him. Perhaps that was his chance to drop the blade and try again at living. But he persisted—heading straight towards his impending demise.

Until he heard Sicheng's voice.

Maybe the world was turning completely against him because he swore he could feel blood dripping down onto his legs. He slowly opened one eye, expecting to be hit by a wave of pain, but instead, he saw a hand tightly gripping the blade. His gaze shot up to Taeyong, who had his eyes clenched shut as crimson escaped from his hand. Yuta dropped the knife, allowing the elder to take it for himself and place it on the ground. Though he'd opened his eyes, his hand trembled as he watched blood drip onto the floor.

Before either of them could even react, Sicheng and Mark ran over, with the former almost in tears as he hugged the Japanese patient. The teen, however, just knelt beside Taeyong and looked at his hand. He had things he wanted to say. Mostly how he was stupid to put himself in danger by going after Yuta, but he thought that could wait.


	25. Uncontrollable

Taeil and Sicheng took Yuta into another room, soon followed by Hendery. Mark was told to take Taeyong into the medical room, to which he complied without a second of thought. He sat the elder down on the bed before turning to look away. Preoccupied with examining the ground, he let out a small sigh.

He looked back at Taeyong who was looking at him curiously, as though he was expecting the younger to talk. Indeed, he was and waited in anticipation as Mark crossed his arms.

“Why did you go after him?”

“Because I thought I could bring him back. He didn't purposefully harm me, so I don't see what the issue is.”

“You could've gotten seriously hurt. I don't want you to get hurt,” said Mark.

Taeyong shrugged. “If I hadn't gone, Yuta might have already been dead. I think that should outweigh the danger.”

“Let's just move on. Give me your hand.”

The patient complied. While Mark had little idea of what to do, he did know that the wound needed to be cleaned, so he took a clean cloth from the makeshift storage system in the corner and poured some of the fresh, bottled water over it, and on the elder's hand.

As he carefully wiped around the knife's path, he looked up to see Taeyong staring at him. They were close, but it wasn't as though they hadn't been before. It felt somehow different, and Mark averted his eyes back down to the task at hand. The bleeding had already gotten past its uncontrolled stage of spewing itself out mercilessly and had almost completely come to a stop.

“Are you angry?”

“Why would I be angry?” asked the teen.

“Because I saved Yuta,” he replied, “do you _also_ think he'd be better off gone?”

“Nobody wanted him dead.”

“I know the Taeil and the others do. Except for Sicheng. Yuta loves him.”

Mark chuckled, “I think he made it obvious.”

“Is that what people do? Kill people to show their—”

Mark really didn't know what was getting into his head by that point, as he pushed a strand of Taeyong's long black hair out of the latter's face. The patient fell silent, his gaze completely consumed by the caretaker as he blinked curiously.

“No, they do things like this,” he said.

He convinced himself he was just kissing the elder for the sake of kissing him, but his actions felt completely beyond his control. He forgot everything he'd been worried about at that moment. Such as his own embarrassment, Taeyong potentially pushing him away or the others finding out. They _did_ agree to be more honest, but Mark was sure that probably wasn't what Taeyong meant.

Yet still, the younger sat down beside him and inched closer to the patient, completely ignoring how much he thought he should turn around. Their lips eventually touched—again—and Mark noticed how Taeyong awkwardly placed his non-bloody hand down on his lap unsure of what to do with himself. He didn't want to break the kiss, but he also didn't want to accidentally cover the younger in red.

Mark separated them for a moment in order to regain his breath before leaning in further. He couldn't move any closer if he tried, blocked by the elder's crossed legs. Without even realizing, he'd soon wrapped his arms around Taeyong's neck. He felt the latter's clean hand loosely placed on his waist, as though he was unsure if what he was doing was alright. He was _extremely_ nervous about messing up in any way, feeling more comfortable to just leave Mark to lead the way. But he also felt abnormally happy. He didn't want the moment to end as abruptly as it began.

But then they heard someone clear their throat from behind them.

Taeil looked more surprised than anything, with Hendery stood beside him looking at them with wide eyes. Taeyong looked at Mark as the latter tensed up and awkwardly turned around.

“Hendery, can you take care of Taeyong's wound while I talk to Mark?” the eldest asked, and the other caretaker nodded hesitantly.

The teen certainly felt as though he was about to get scolded as they walked down the hallway. Taeil soon stopped walking and immediately sighed.

“I told you not to get too attached.”

“I—”

“Wait, I'm not done,” he said, “have you been paying _any_ attention to what is happening around you? All of this Yuta business should be enough to tell you not to take these guys lightly.”

“But you're all pretty attached from what I've seen.”

“Mark, how old are you again? Eighteen?”

“Seventeen.”

“Exactly. I'm twenty-three, I know what I've gotten myself into. You've got a life ahead of you which you can dictate. Is dating a killer _really_ the best choice?”

Aside from being in a minor shock from the fact that Taeil was six years older than him, he did kind of understand where he was coming from.

“Also, has it never occurred to you that you don't even know how old Taeyong is?”

“I've never thought about it,” he replied, it was a realization for him, too.

“He's twenty-one. That's four years between you, while you're underage. He might act _far_ younger than that most of the time, but he is still an adult. You know most of his past. He's not just another person, he's got some severe issues in his life, and I don't just mean his ASPD. You've already seen how thin he is, you know he's self-destructive and he can't do a lot of things we can.”

“But he deserves a chance.”

“He doesn't even understand relationships, Mark. He can't be in one.”

“I'm giving him a chance to understand. That's it.”

~

With his hand now bandaged up and new rules set out for his healing of yet another injury, Taeyong looked down on the fabric, experimenting with whether or not he could move his hand while it was suffocated under several layers of wrapping. His hand stung, but it was nowhere near the most painful injury he had acquired.

Mark had gone home. His parents were—in the patient's opinion—being controlling and illogical forcing him to stay overnight in his own home. No matter how he tried to think about how it was for the best, he couldn't help but see the negatives. He only knew of parents being cruel and unreasonable. It was something he'd begun to do over time; analyzing every living and breathing being's flaws and weaknesses. They all had them, after all.

But parents, from what he'd seen, were the most flawed of all.

He sat pondering Mark's family situation as the other patients sat quietly. In another room, Yuta was being asked _hundreds_ of questions. Taeyong didn't care much for Taeil's punishments. Nor did he feel any different without the Japanese patient's presence. It wasn't as though they'd never been separated. It was normal.

He smiled faintly, thinking about the occurrence in the medical room. He'd noticed that Mark seemed more comfortable than he used to, and initiated things without hesitation.

Taeil came back into the room and set his eyes on Taeyong from the doorway, signalling for him to go outside. With the door closed, the elder began walking in the direction of the garden.

“How long has this been going on? You _have_ only kissed, haven't you?”

“What else would we do?” asked the younger, before something clicked in his head, “We've hugged.”

The eldest simply nodded, “that's it?”

“Yes?”

“Okay, that's good. You can't do anything else, okay?”

“At all?”

“No, I know you won't listen. I mean only kissing and hugging, if you're going to continue with _whatever_ you're doing,” he replied.

Taeyong nodded, though he didn't really get what the elder was implying.

“I'm not happy with what's going on. Because of your... lack of an upbringing, I'm worried that you don't realize what you're doing.”

“I know what I'm doing. I see you and Johnny together, it's just like that.”

“Please don't use us as an example—that's really not comparable,” he sighed, “also, I know you don't understand how society works, but to them, what you are doing is wrong. Taeyong, you're four years older than Mark. He's a teenager.”

“It's just an age.”

“I know, but it's important.”

Taeyong sighed, “fine, I'll remember the number.”

“Other than that, since I know you don't care what I say, at least come to me if Mark makes you feel uncomfortable at any point. I just want you to be safe.”

The younger nodded. Perhaps Taeil wasn't so bad after all, even if he sometimes felt like a parent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more MarkYong moments to harm your soul :)


	26. Curiosity

Mark knew the second he walked in the door that he was about to be swarmed by his parents and be faced with an entire questionnaire from them. Surely enough, his mother looked around the corner and immediately had a stern look on her face.

"Mark Lee, where have you been? It's almost nighttime already."

"Sorry, I got caught up. Doyoung was helping me with some work," he replied, but his mother didn't seem convinced.

"We need to talk," she said, looking him dead in the eyes.

Somehow his mother was more intimidating that Taeyong, even when he was angry.

He followed her into the living room where his father was sat on the couch, paying minimal attention to them.

"You've been sneaking around a lot lately," she said, hitting his father to get his backup.

"I have?"

His mother sighed, "yes, ever since you decided to go to that asylum."

"What? I don't think I've been acting any different," he said, in an attempt to hide his panic.

"You're a terrible liar," said his father.

"What happened while you were in there? Did you see a body? Did you get hurt?"

"Nothing happened, we just walked around and got lost inside because of how big it is."

His father furrowed his eyebrows, "the building is a square, Mark. It isn't that hard to navigate."

"Alright," he said, "we just wanted to stay in for a while, but then our way in was blocked so we couldn't get out."

"You promise that was all?"

"I promise."

"Fine. You can go upstairs. But tomorrow night, we're going to visit your aunt for a meal. I want you back here at five on the dot."

**~**

It had become evident to Taeyong that everybody was doubting his understanding of his and Mark's situation. Taeil seemed to be babying him even more than usual, telling him he could be endangering himself and how it's unfair to restrict the teen's life. He'd already gathered that nobody wanted them together. He didn't particularly care, but what he _did_ care about was how Mark hadn't turned up in the morning. The patient automatically feared that he'd changed his mind, and that he wasn't coming back.

He'd decided to sit by the entrance, waiting for him to arrive. At least he'd know straight away whether Mark had arrived. It was abnormally cold by the window. He could feel the breeze, even if all of the boards were in place. He turned around, feeling the air rushing behind him, and his gaze was immediately snatched by the door. There was something unfamiliar. The bottom of the door was broken, the wood smashed onto the inside and scattered across the floor. He hadn't noticed it beforehand, but it seemed like somebody purposefully was trying to break it. He couldn't hear anybody from the inside, but he didn't want to lurk if somebody was on the other side.

He got up and made his way down the hallway, past all of the empty rooms and eventually past the living section of the building. Though he hated being cooped up, he did feel secure between the walls. 

It certainly made a difference, since beforehand he would've done anything to escape. Too many days of sitting in a blinding white room, sat crouching in the corner attempting to stop tears spilling from his eyes had passed in his life. He'd hated _every_ second of his doctor looking down at him with what Taeyong could only describe as an evil grin, just waiting to make his life a living hell again. He'd hated feeling so small. So _hopeless_. He'd gone from sleeping among hay and running out in cattle fields to sleeping on the cold, hard ground and never seeing the light of day.

But he set himself free.

He still anticipated that Mark would take him outside like he promised, and they'd have fun out in the woods. Until then, he'd have to find other ways to pass time, especially while he was alone. He climbed up the ladder to the vent space between floors, crawling along the stone tunnel-like space. He stuck the the farthest side, not wanting to disturb the many spiders that had made webs between the piping. He enjoyed having a crawlspace that the others would barely touch. He didn't exactly go up open, at least in recent months, as it was more of a hiding space for whatever he felt the need to hide from. Granted, he _actually_ had nothing to hide from in that moment, but the enclosed space made him feel safer.

It was a complex tunnel system. He liked to compare it to a mouse's burrow. It was like his own burrow, only it was above ground and he didn't actually make it himself. He'd barely ventured far, mostly because he knew it was actually home to rodents too. He wasn't scared of them, but they were scared of him. He didn't want to get in their way and force them to leave, especially since Jaehyun told him that they live short lives and were just as hated as them. Taeyong often pondered how similar they were to the small creatures—hiding away from the society who brushes them aside like some filth—after all, he was always treated like a pest.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't like animals. Actually, he'd swap most humans for even an insect. Mark was the first person he truly didn't feel judged by. Perhaps it was learned from his four years living outside among the animals, but Taeyong, by far, preferred them to people. Unless of course that person was the teen.

He continued crawling though the tunnel. He knew where he was going, heading right towards the east side of the building. Through a small metal grid in the wall, he peeked through into the communal room. It was barely occupied, with only Jaehyun, Taeil and Johnny inside. 

Taeyong was curious. The eldest had made it obvious that he had a problem with him and Mark. But it wasn't as though they were in a relationship, since _apparently_ he knew nothing about such things. He didn't know what was going on, really, they were just showing affection. They were both uncertain. 

But that being said, he'd never seen Taeil and Johnny be affectionate to each other. Maybe they were just private about those things, like how Mark really didn't want anybody to know what was going on between them. He didn't understand it. If it were up to him, he'd show off the person he loved to the world. Well, at least to the other patients. From Jaehyun's random lessons—yet again—Taeyong had thought that people were the egotistical type to show their feelings with pride. But everybody around him was proving that to be a lie. 

A thought crossed his mind as he sat looking through the grid. If he wanted to learn about his feelings, he needed to investigate a little bit more. Thinking wasn't helping, and though he enjoyed it, neither was kissing Mark. It was just confusing him further and making an odd happiness well up inside of him. He needed to observe people. _"Normal"_ people.

Which meant he needed to go outside.

He didn't want to make Mark lose interest or get bored of him. He needed to know more, and what better way to learn than to sneak out of the asylum, wander around the city and examine the free people's actions. It sounded easy. He just needed to leave quietly, and he knew the perfect way to get to the other end of the building without alarming anybody. 

He crawled back in the direction he'd come earlier, as fast as humanly possible on all-fours without hitting his head off of the ceiling. There was another entrance to the crawlspace conveniently right by the way into the building. It'd just take a while of making his way through the almost endless tunnels of stone. Carefully "stepping" over a ventilation grid in the process, Taeyong soon reached the end and climbed down the ladder. 

After some struggle, he knocked the wooden board loose. He'd seen Yuta do it in the past when he left to find some food. The bright light flooding in hit him right in the face, as well as a gust of clean outside air. The luscious green grass on the other side of the window put the half-dying overgrown garden to shame. The taste of freedom was almost overwhelming as Taeyong sat on the window's frame grinning. He dropped himself down onto the grass and breathed in the cool air.

He was free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing an update yesterday, I hadn't finished writing this chapter for the usual midday posting, and still hadn't until now.


	27. Runaway

The feeling of freedom was temporary, soon drowned out by overwhelm. Taeyong realized rapidly that he shouldn't have ventured much further than a street or two away, but now surrounded by an unfamiliar environment, a small sigh escaped his lips as he sat against the wall of building. The street was bustling with people, old and young. He could hear cars in the distance, and somehow everything felt extremely loud. He felt out of place. People happily talked to each other, smiles plastered upon their faces. On the other hand, he was sat on the sidewalk with dry blood covering half of his worn-down t-shirt, with his messy black hair shielding his eyes from the world. If it wasn't for his hair, they'd see his sad eyes fixated on the ground.

People were staring at him. He felt cornered and judged, as though, to them, he was just a piece of trash in their streets. He jumped, his breath hitching slightly as the door to the building he was sat outside of opened, making a peculiar beeping noise as a man stepped out. Taeyong's heart stopped seeing the large man wearing a bloody apron glaring down at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get away! You're scaring our customers away!" he shouted, making the runaway patient jump again.

He'd probably have hit the man if he wasn't feeling completely terrified. He stumbled up to his feet and ran down the street, looking back as the man scowled at him from the door. People moved away from him as he ran, staring at him with furrowed eyebrows. He was convinced the last time he'd felt so scared was when his doctor first sent him for therapy; the electricity running through his body causing possibly the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life. His doctor just kept turning the intensity up, over and over and over again. 

Taeyong eventually slowed down, running out of the energy to run any further. As he breathed heavily trying to regain his breath, he felt somebody slam into his shoulder and turned back to see two teens who looked around Mark's age looking back at him. One just scowled, looking him up and down before turning away. He also eventually moved on, shuffling his way through people. He didn't know where he was going, but he was hoping that he'd run into Mark by chance.

It didn't look like that was going to happen. He found himself tugging at the bandage on his hand as he walked, pulling the fabric as a way to preoccupy himself. He looked up at the sun between the buildings. There weren't many hours left of sunlight. He knew that the sun was disappearing quickly recently, meaning he'd have to find his way back to the asylum. It wasn't as though he could ask for directions, so he'd have to retrace his steps and hope for the best. He hadn't even managed to observe anybody. He'd not seen anybody who looked like they were in love. Nobody holding hands or hugging, only people walking side by side and talking quietly. Unless everybody was like Taeil and Johnny outside.

The blue sky was soon overrun by dark clouds, and Taeyong knew what was coming. He was walking back the way he'd come when he felt the first drop of rain land on his arm. Weather always seemed to be inconvenient, bestowing everyone in rain in the worst possible moments. It was cold. The runaway patient's arms were uncovered, so he was quickly overrun by the cold. With the sun out of view, he had no idea how long was left of sunlight, but he knew it wasn't long. He began to run, heading away from the clearing streets and into what he assumed was a residential area. That was his sign that he was lost. Feeling defeated, he headed down the side alleyway of a small store. At least he'd be sheltered from the rain.

He intended to only sit down there until the rain had settled, already soaked from the downpour and shivering as he sat against the wall. Of all stupid things he'd done, he was sure that was right up there at the top of the list. The others must have noticed his absence by then. All of the running seemed to have caught up to him, with his energy completely drained. The rain was far from over, and the patient soon found himself falling asleep.

**~**

Mark had been hanging out with Doyoung all day since Taeil told him to take a day to think things through. He'd managed to spill all of his emotions to the elder, ranting about the oldest caretaker for the longest time he'd ever rambled in his life. His friend took it all in, rather quietly, but still occasionally letting some judgement slip through. It had hardly turned four when he'd finished complaining, so they sat in Doyoung's room talking about the most random things they could think of. The latter had figured out that Mark's crush was the one from the local legends, though it didn't immediately occur to him.

"I'm somehow more disappointed in you. Does Taeyong—"

"If you're going to offend him, don't talk."

"It's not offensive, it's a question," he said, "so, does he act like a dog?"

"How does one act like a dog?"

"Does he walk on all fours? Like head pats? Bark?"

"No, yes and no. But I _have_ heard him growl before."

Doyoung laughed, "so he does act like a dog."

"He's cute and kind of fluffy like a dog."

"Save that cringe. I don't want to hear it."

Mark was relieved he had somebody to talk to about things that had happened in the asylum, he hated keeping things in but he didn't know if he could trust his friends with the information.

"I'm worried," said the younger, "what if Taeyong is put off now that Taeil's stuck his nose into this?"

"Well, it is your fault he knows. Maybe next time don't get caught making out—"

Mark rolled his eyes, "I don't want to scare him away. He doesn't understand relationships, Taeil is right about that. What if I accidentally go too fast for him?"

"Mark," Doyoung sighed, "you should know what boundaries to set. He _is_ older than you, but you're the one with the best judgement. Whatever you're thinking of, don't do it. Especially while we don't really know what happened while he was in his father's care."

"I can't believe you actually know all of the history, that's like... kind of sad."

"I got a history lesson when I told my parents where we'd gone."

"Mine have started being nosy now," Mark sighed.

Before they could continue talking, his phone lit up. He picked it up, expecting it to have been a message from his mother, only to find it was actually Taeil.

_"Mark, Taeyong's missing. The window wasn't blocked, we think he's ran away."_

His smile dropped completely, and he looked up to Doyoung.

"We need to go. Taeyong's left the asylum."

**~**

Taeyong woke up looking like he'd been drowned and thrown in an alleyway to die. He hadn't even noticed where he was until his eyes shot open, feeling the warm touch of another person. There was a woman kneeling in front of him, shaking him to wake him up. He blinked and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as she saw him move and dropped her umbrella to sit him up.

"Are you alright?" she asked, scanning over him quickly.

She grabbed his hand, looking at the drenched bandage which was now coated with fresh blood. Gaining no reply, she held onto his other arm and got him to stand up. Taeyong was too disorientated to acknowledge anything, quietly complying as she picked up her umbrella and walked him out of the alleyway.

"I'm a nurse, I'll bring you to my apartment just at the end of this street and I'll give you some clean bandages, okay?" she asked, "Are you injured anywhere else? Sick?"

He shook his head, and she nodded in understanding. Taeyong wasn't sure if he should've trusted her, but she seemed nice and he thought she could've gave him directions to return to the asylum. They soon walked into a small apartment complex, and she unlocked a door on the first floor. The patient hesitantly stepped inside, but his heart dropped when she locked the door. That meant he couldn't have escaped if he wanted to. She pulled a chair from under the table and turned to him.

"Sit down, I'll get you some clean clothes. I'm sure my roommate's clothes will fit you."

Taeyong waited, looking around and he subconsciously picked at the skin on his fingers. He was nervous that he'd just been lured into this stranger's house to be murdered, and that the woman had just gone to find a knife. It made little sense, as the kitchen was behind him, but he knew people kept weapons in their bedrooms. His father did.

She soon returned and looked at him as he sat clearly worried. But what caught her attention was how he was sat shaking his leg and was purposefully keeping himself busy instead of looking at her, both common things to do while nervous or stressed.

"Why are you covered in blood?" she asked.

He looked up at her, but quickly averted his gaze.

"Too soon? How about introductions first?" she suggested, "I'm Seulgi. You?"

There was silence on the patient's behalf, and she sighed.

"Now what's your name?"

"Taeyong," he replied hesitantly.

His reply sent shivers down her spine. It was just a coincidence, surely.

"Well, Taeyong, how about you go and get changed into these dry clothes before I deal with your hand?"

He nodded, standing up. Seulgi pointed him in the direction of the bathroom, and sighed in relief as he disappeared behind the door. She took the first aid kit she had stored in the cupboard and placed it on the floor, before slowly opening another drawer, and pulled out a newspaper article she had cut out years ago. Looking at the headline, she frowned.

_"Boy Found Living With Dogs in Killer's Barn."_

And another underneath, read:

_"'Canine Child' Lee Taeyong Dies During Treatment."_

She was taken out of her thoughts as the door opened, and Taeyong emerged holding his wet clothes.

"Give them to me and I'll dry them for you," said Seulgi, "sit down, I'll be a minute."

After dealing with the clothes, she grabbed the first aid kit and pulled a chair in front of him. She removed the bandage, throwing it into the bin before drawing a sharp breath upon seeing the wound.

"Is this from a knife? How did this happen?"

He stayed silent, unsurprisingly, and she moved on, wiping the large gash with an antiseptic wipe.

"By the way, what's your surname?" she asked, "Are you from around here?"

He looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, but she persisted. He seemed to think for a minute, as though he didn't know what to say. Which was partially true, because nobody addressed him by his full name. He could remember Jaehyun saying it once, but it took a while to remember.

"Lee," he replied, "I don't live _too_ far."

"No... I mean were you born here?" asked Seulgi.

He shook his head, "out of the city."

As she opened the bandage's bag, she headed over to the drawer she'd opened earlier. Grabbing the newspaper cutouts. She placed them down on the table beside Taeyong, and he turned to look at them.

"What's that?" he asked.

"A newspaper article."

"Why are you showing me this?"

She sighed, "does this story look familiar?"

He looked at the paper, and back to Seulgi. To him, it was just a bunch of odd shapes on paper, with some photos.

"What does it say?" he asked.

"Wait... you can't read?"

He shook his head, "not much."

"Did your father murder your mother?"

He froze immediately, looking down at his lap. Seulgi's eyes widened at his reaction and gulped.

"It _is_ you?"

She noticed how he began to shake and hugged him immediately, "it's okay, I'm back now. I promise I won't let you go _ever_ again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a second update today to apologize for missing yesterday's chapter!
> 
> How do you think Seulgi knows Taeyong?


	28. Long Forgotten

"Do I know you?"

Seulgi's heart shattered at the reply, but she'd half expected it. They hadn't actually been around each other much, and the last time she'd seen him was in 2005 when their father had thrown him out of the house. She'd been there at the time. She was eight years old, while Taeyong was six. She was only in the other room when she heard him crying, followed by their father shouting. They had different mothers, so Seulgi didn't live at the farm. She just so happened to be there that day and ran into the other room to see their father hit him before he dragged her brother out of the house and threw him in the barn.

She didn't know exactly what happened, but she recalled her father shouting malicious insults to him. The one that stood out the most was how he called him "worthless". It broke her heart even then. She was terrified for him. All along, Taeyong wasn't the healthiest child around. He was small, thin and struggled to talk. But as Seulgi looked back, she realized the last was probably down to fear. When he did speak, he'd stutter often, but only in his father's presence.

"You do. Or, you did. Taeyong, I'm your older sister," she replied.

He seemed surprised, "you are?"

She nodded.

"Seulgi? I don't remember you..."

Ignoring what he'd, she just smiled at him. She was half in disbelief. Part of her always knew he couldn't have died, he wasn't the type to give up easily.

"What happened in the hospital? Everybody was told that you died."

"I think I was supposed to be killed by my doctor," he spoke quietly, "but that didn't happen."

"What about your doctor? Where is he now?"

"He's dead."

"Dead? So, where do you live now? You can't be in a facility if you're wandering around the streets," asked Seulgi.

Taeyong wondered if he should answer. If he wanted to get back, he'd have to tell her. "I still live there."

"But it's abandoned—" she said, "Are you homeless? Do you want to move in here? I could kick my roommate out."

"I live with Taeil."

"Who's that?"

"He looks after me, and some other patients."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "you live in an abandoned building with somebody called Taeil and other patients?"

"With Mark too, sometimes."

Seulgi was confused, but she just smiled and nodded. She was just glad he was alive. She continued wrapping his hand in the bandage and put the first aid kit away.

"So, tell me about your little asylum family," she said, sitting back in her chair.

"Jaehyun and Yuta are both patients from the same place as me. They let me stay with them once everybody left. They taught me how to talk and do other things. But then Johnny came... he hates me. He brought Taeil and his friends, who look after us. They don't leave even when we fight all the time—" after a second of thought, he pulled his t-shirt up slightly to reveal the scar from when Johnny stabbed him, "I've been stabbed with a fork by Johnny because he's scared of me."

Seulgi sat practically gawking at him, "wow, he sounds _lovely."_

She couldn't help but realize he was just as thin as she remembered, but it looked worse because he'd _obviously_ grown taller, with his ribs being worryingly visible.

"It's because he's sick. Taeil told me that he doesn't trust me."

"That's not an excuse to stab somebody, even if you don't trust them."

"There are two more patients too, Ten who's a crybaby and Yangyang who's a mute obsessed with drawing. And then, there's Mark," he said, smiling.

"Oh? You seem to really like this Mark guy."

"He's really nice. I saved him and how we're really close. He makes me happy."

Seulgi smiled, "well, tomorrow I'll take you back there, okay? But for now, you need to eat."

~

Seulgi certainly hadn't expected to have to climb through a window to get into the building. Taeyong had gotten up early and was eager to return, almost getting his way until his sister realized he couldn't go without eating.

But as she stepped into the building, she wasn't sure if she should actually leave him there. But he seemed happy, and she didn't want to force her way into his life by taking him away from what is familiar to him.

On the other hand, Taeyong didn't really want Seulgi there. The others weren't exactly the friendliest to outsiders. They walked down the hallway, and eventually had their first encounter. Kun stood up with his head on the bars of the door, looking across at them.

“You've been out hunting?” he asked, looking at Seulgi, “I'm sure the others will be _thrilled_.”

She shivered at his comment and looked at how Taeyong clenched his teeth, obviously holding back. She did know that he'd become violent and was diagnosed with ASPD. Her mother had gotten the information, and later told Seulgi. Of course, it was all over the local news too.

The patient turned away, instead opening a door. Stepping inside, they heard the talking on the other side come to a sudden stop. The second Taeyong was through the door, Mark practically jumped onto him, engulfing the elder in a hug. It was from his shoulder that the teen realized the woman stood behind him. She smiled, but Mark pulled away from the hug.

“You've got a _hell_ of a lot of explaining to do,” Taeil said sternly, standing up, “where have you been?”

As he walked over to the door, his glance set on the stranger behind the patient. He sighed. The last thing they needed was another outsider, especially since Doyoung was also sat in the room, though being harassed by Jaehyun.

“Who are you?” he asked cautiously.

“I'm Seulgi,” she spoke, “Taeyong's sister.”

There were plenty of surprised faces in the room, and Taeil looked at the patient.

“Is this true? You never mentioned a sister. Now that I think about it, neither did the files.”

“I can't remember, but she seems to know a lot,” said Taeyong.

“So does _practically_ everybody around here who were alive when you were found.”

“I'm not lying, I wouldn't. We have the same father, and I witnessed how he treat him first hand,” Seulgi replied, “the files won't mention me because I didn't live in the farm.”

Taeil hesitated, but looked over to Taeyong, “you stay here. I need to talk to her away from all of you.”

“Hey, don't think about it. I'm coming. I don't trust her—”

“Johnny, I don't need you to protect me.”

“Johnny?” asked Seulgi, “You're the one who stabbed Taeyong?”

He looked at the younger patient in disbelief, “what else did you tell her?”

“Let's deal with this somewhere else, okay?” said Taeil, “Come on, Johnny, so you can get an earful too.”

He groaned, standing up. He wanted to protect Taeil, not get scolded himself. They walked out of the room, and away from the row of rooms so Yuta and Kun wouldn't eavesdrop. Heading upstairs Seulgi was looking around curiously.

“Why appear now? Why didn't you show up three years ago when this place closed and Taeyong needed somewhere to go?” asked Taeil, reaching the top step.

“Well we met by coincidence, I found him sleeping on the street so I took him in from the rain and figured it out. But they didn't give us a chance. My mother isn't even related to him in any way, and he couldn't have been in my care when I was only twenty-one and in education at the time.”

“What about the past? What happened? Why didn't the government know your father had a son?”

Seulgi sighed, “I've been told Taeyong was born on the farm. His mother had always been kind of sickly. They didn't even know he was going to be born until a month or two beforehand. They never registered him anywhere, he never went to school.”

Even Johnny seemed curious, though he tried to hide it by looking uninterested.

“I think you've already gathered my father was a complete nut job. I think he was abusing Taeyong, which is why he didn't talk. I actually witnessed him being hit once, which was when he was thrown out into the barn.”

“Being a nut job must run in the family,” Johnny remarked, earning a glare.

“He's not a bad person, he'd just had a bad life. He must've blocked the memories out, which is why he can't remember me,” Seulgi replied.

Before Taeil could say anything reassuring, the accompanying patient stepped in, “‘not a bad person’? Are you aware your brother is a murderer?”

“He is?”

Taeil sighed. He planned on keeping that a secret, “yes, he's killed before. He killed his doctor, and has attacked around three people who've came in here.”

“And on the stabbing matter, he's also attacked me several times,” Johnny added.

Seulgi couldn't believe her innocent little brother had followed in their father's footsteps. She sighed.

“He's still ill. We can't treat him here because I can't get any medication for him. Plus, we're currently one person down due to a little accident that happened,” said Taeil.

“You can't send him to another institution?”

“Do you _want_ him to be killed for real this time?” asked Johnny.

“He's right. They can't handle him. He's been through enough already, I couldn't send him somewhere he'll never get to see anybody.”

Seulgi frowned. “What are you planning to do with him? Are you living in here forever? There's a reason it was abandoned, the roof's collapsing.”

“I want to treat everybody in the future. Until we have the resources, we're here, and half of these guys are being treated already,” Taeil replied, "don't worry. He's safer here than out in public, especially when everybody thinks he's dead."


	29. Fragments Of The Past

"I can't believe you managed to meet your sister by chance," said Mark, "that's like fate."

Taeyong seemed to be consumed by his thoughts, "but I can't remember her. I feel like I should, she seemed sad when I told her."

"Maybe don't think so hard about it. Remember what we agreed? About creating new memories? Do the same with her. You don't want to bring back bad memories by remembering."

"He's right," said Jaehyun, "if she witnessed your father's actions, it's safe to say those memories would come back too."

Doyoung was listening quietly. He certainly felt like an outsider, but he was sure it was a good thing that he wasn't too involved.

Taeyong looked at Mark who sat beside him and shuffled over to cuddle into his side, "I'm sorry for running away."

"Why did you even leave?" asked the teen.

"To learn."

"Learn what? How much everybody panics when you disappear?" Jaehyun commented.

"How people show their love."

The other patient snickered, but Mark sighed quietly.

"Taeil told me that him and Johnny are different to us, but I don't understand why," said Taeyong.

Jaehyun laughed. "You're overthinking it. He means that they've known each other for a long time. And I mean a _long_ time."

Taeyong looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. He'd never thought about how they knew each other.

"Johnny is the reason Taeil is studying so hard to become a psychiatrist, they've been friends since they were younger. I'm assuming he knows how the illness changed him."

Even Mark was amazed, he didn't know if he'd be able to study for the benefit of another person when he didn't even study for himself. Taeil returned moments later with Johnny and Seulgi in tow. Taeyong watched how the eldest patient kept his eyes fixated on his sister, examining her every move.

"Taeyong, Seulgi is leaving for now. She wants to come and visit every now and again, is that alright?" asked Taeil.

He nodded, and Seulgi smiled. She knelt in front of him.

"That makes one of us," Johnny remarked.

"I won't pester you too much, but if you want me here, I'll come whenever you like. Within reason, I _do_ have a life and a job," she said, before pulling him into a hug for a moment, "but I promise I'll be back."

Taeyong smiled, he was happy that people actually wanted to see him. Even though everybody in his past saw him as a monster. He waved as Seulgi left, being led by Taeil. Johnny looked over at him as he sat back at the other side of the room.

"You're about to get shouted at," he warned, "Taeil is _not_ happy."

"Great."

"I don't think you understand just how worried he was," Johnny added, "you might think nobody cares about your sad existence, but you inconvenience everyone by doing what you want."

No matter how cruel he was, everybody knew the patient was right. Everyone had dropped everything they were doing to scout the entire building looking for him. Consequently, Mark received a several lengthy messages from his parents, incredibly annoyed at that. He hadn't gone home at all, never mind in time for the meal his parents had wanted him to attend. He told them there was an emergency with "a friend" and that it was important, but his mother persisted saying he'd be grounded for two days if he didn't go home.

Making sure Taeyong was safe was more important, even if he'd be stuck in his room for a couple of days.

Doyoung had gone home and returned in the morning to help, as he was worried about Mark who was stressed out over the whole endeavor, in addition to his whole hour long rant the day before. He wanted to be there for the younger, just in case anything had gone wrong. But inside of the asylum, he'd been at the center of most of the other's attention, and Jaehyun—remembering him from their last encounter—had been trying his hardest to distract him from Mark by consistently talking to him about things he hadn't even acknowledged.

When Taeil walked into the room and sat down, there was a lingering tense silence. 

"Well? Why did you disappear for a day and return with somebody who claims to be your sister?"

"He said he was learning about how people show love," Jaehyun replied for him.

" _Not_ by running away," said Taeil, "Mark's gotten in trouble because of you, Taeyong. You won't be able to see him for a few days. Don't even think about going outside until you've proven that you consider others."

Taeyong sheepishly looked at the teen beside him. He didn't intend to stay out so long, or cause any trouble for him. But he wouldn't think twice about inconveniencing the others.

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to go home now, Mark? I'm sure your parents are worried."

"I wouldn't call it that, but yeah. I should go," said the teen, turning to Doyoung, "are you coming?"

"Can you stay?" asked Jaehyun.

He looked at Taeil, who simply shrugged.

"No, I should probably go home to study," Doyoung replied, causing the patient to frown.

Taeil noticed his reaction, and sighed, "you're welcome here too, you know. You've already proved to be trustworthy."

"I still think I should go... for now at least."

To Jaehyun, it was better than nothing. Taeyong certainly didn't seem happy as Mark stood up, seeming almost puppy-like as he looked at the younger. He still said goodbye like usual, but slouched down against the wall as the door closed.

"Seriously, what is it lately? Is there something in the water? Why are you all acting up? I don't even know who to trust anymore," said Taeil, "First Kun, then Yuta, now you too, Taeyong? Why do I need to lock up _three_ people at once?"

"I mean, he didn't do anything too bad—"

The eldest looked at Sicheng in disbelief, "it's still against our rules."

"How long?" asked Taeyong, standing up.

"Two days, like Mark."

"Then just lock me in now, I get it. I won't do it again."

"Good. I hope you mean it, I'm worn out enough as is."

Watching as the patient walked over to the door, Taeil grabbed the keys from beside Johnny. He was really beginning to feel drained from all of the investigating and worrying. Out in the hallway, Yuta and Kun both looked out upon hearing the keys.

"What a surprise," Yuta joked, "what are you in for?"

"He ran away."

"What? That's pretty lame."

Upon locking the door, the caretaker couldn't have left any quicker. He didn't want to stay to hear anything any of them had to say. 

Taeyong sat down, resting his head against the door. He was sure Mark was probably angry at him, and, he didn't blame him. He hadn't even managed to learn anything, but he didn't exactly regret leaving. Sure, he was terrified, but it was kind of refreshing for him to feel such an emotion. Aside from the happiness he felt around Mark, he always felt... empty. He'd only known that emptiness and anger for the longest time, yet he was faced with the rush of emotions he couldn't explain. Though he'd rather _not_ relive the fear he'd felt once before.


	30. Another Perspective

Johnny woke up to find Taeil had fallen asleep in the communal room, meaning Ten and Jaehyun were both also out of their rooms, and soundly asleep in their own places in the room. A blanket was poorly draped over the eldest patient's body but pushing himself from the ground, he tore it away, gently placing it over Taeil instead. Taking the keys, he wandered over to the others. He kicked Jaehyun in the back and shook Ten to wake them both up, and after forcing them both to be quiet from their whining, took them out to the hallway.

"Look who's being helpful for once," said Jaehyun as the elder closed the door behind him, looking through the bars, "I bet you're actually a softy under your tough act."

"Has anybody ever told you how annoying you are?"

"I'm sure you have plenty of times."

Locking the door, Johnny turned to Ten. Then, he looked at Kun who was sat in the corner of the room, oddly still awake. He sighed, "if you move even an inch I will personally wedge a knife between your ribs."

"I'd like to see you try," Kun replied, his voice muffled by his arms, "Taeil won't be happy with you."

Hearing the door click open, he lifted his head. Even Johnny felt a chill by catching his gaze for a second. That certainly wasn't the same Kun who was certain that following the eldest patient into the asylum was a bad idea. He'd been so obviously terrified of the others for _weeks_ until Taeil convinced him they had to help. Little did any of them know he'd end up being the one locked behind the metal doors. Nobody knew what had gotten into him, but Sicheng seemed to think that the guilt was playing with his head. They knew the _"I saved them"_ mentality was problematic right from the get-go. The distorted heroism wasn't helping anybody. Maybe something sparked inside of him when the accident occurred.

"I'm sure he'd overlook it. After all, you're a hazard."

He raised an eyebrow, and Johnny felt something make contact with the back of his head. He turned around as Ten took his hand away and glared at him.

"Just let me in and go away," he said.

"To think I _kindly_ woke you up without kicking you."

Ten pulled the door open and stepped inside, "leave."

Johnny scowled and locked the door, glaring one last time before he returned to the room. Taeil had hardly moved, but he couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable he looked. He sighed, sitting back down beside the elder. He pulled him over, carefully placing Taeil's head to he could lean on his shoulder and fixed the blanket so it was covering the elder properly.

**~**

Though the sun was already peeking through the cracks in the wall and the hallway, Taeyong lay sprawled on the floor of his room. He couldn't really do anything else. He could already smell the food getting closer and hear the others' doors opening before he saw Taeil on the other side of the door and sat up. As the elder opened the door and placed the container of food down, Taeyong expected him to turn around and leave. But instead, he sat down and took the food in his grasp, closing the door behind him. Taeil could see how the younger's eyes looked between the food and him, and he passed it to him.

"I'm curious about something," he said as the patient immediately began eating, pushing himself against the back wall to lean on it, "I've tried to ignore this and not think about it, but I _really_ can't stop the thoughts."

Taeyong didn't respond, but he knew he was listening as he dug around in his rice with his spoon.

"How did you feel when you killed your doctor?"

The younger placed his spoon down and looked up. He was more confused by the abrupt question than anything, and pulled his legs up.

"The same way anybody would if they got rid of the person causing them so much pain."

"I mean details. Were you happy? Did you feel bad?" asked Taeil, "Did you enjoy it?"

"It was relieving."

"But, did you enjoy it?"

There was a silence on the other side as Taeyong picked his spoon back up and continued to shovel his food. "I don't know what you're implying and I don't like it."

"Did it make you happy? Would you do it again?" asked the elder.

"Are you trying to convince me I'm sick again?"

Taeil sighed. Talking to Taeyong was never straight-forward. "No, I'm not. I'm trying to figure something out."

"Like what?"

"If you were born a killer."

"You're taking Yuta's words seriously? There's little difference. A killer is a killer," Taeyong replied, "and if I was, you'd tell me I'm sick."

"So you think people who weren't born a killer yet still kill aren't sick?"

The younger pondered for a moment, "no, because something _makes_ us kill."

"An external factor, right? It's situational."

He hadn't expected that talking to Taeyong—being somebody who often struggled to comprehend complex concepts—would help him clear his jumbled thoughts.

"But it's all wrong," said Taeil, "no matter the cause, taking a life is wrong."

"Why does this help you?" asked the patient.

"It's interesting to hear a different perspective. I'm sure you and Kun are completely different to Yuta. Of course, we don't know as much about you as the others."

Taeyong was still suspicious, but he gathered he wouldn't get any truthful answer if Taeil was actually judging whether or not he was a risk. He just didn't want a repeat of what happened with the doctor. He wouldn't hesitate to attack somebody to save himself. After all, everybody wants to survive deep down.

"I'll give you some peace while you eat," said the elder, standing up.

**~**

Peace seemed to grow quickly in the hallway, with Taeil returned to the main room and everybody else doing their own thing. Yuta sat silently, lacking Sicheng for his company. Taeyong was also alone, falling asleep out of pure boredom. In Ten's room, though, he and Kun were sat in a tense silence. The younger's nerves were evident, looking around indecisively as he played with his hands to distract himself. He'd refused to leave even when the eldest asked him to, which was extremely out of character, and stayed confined with his "caretaker".

It wasn't as though he was scared of Kun. He some remaining faith that somehow he'd turn out to be the same lovable, caring guy that he was before the accident. But inside, the tiniest slice of him wondered if it was really an accident at all. He'd noticed the elder seemed to be paying a lot of attention to Yuta and Taeyong before it had happened. It could've been a coincidence, especially because there was no now he knew there was going to be a man with a knife in the building at that exact time. But he was definitely up to something.

Kun had told him when it happened. He kind of _had_ to, because he was covered in blood and he couldn't lie. He seemed torn. It wasn't as though there was pure guilt, it was as though he also knew he had no other choice. Everybody told him that, too. It wasn't his own thought. But Ten also knew that he'd been having some struggles since far before it happened. He was questioning himself, trying to decipher a feeling that lingered deep inside of him that even the patient couldn't grasp.

Ten hadn't thought for a moment that the feeling that was haunting Kun could've been a thirst for blood, but it was becoming more and more likely. But he still told himself it was an accident. A coincidence—the world just _wanted_ it to happen at that moment. It hadn't taken long for him to piece things together. Kun was trying to see himself in Yuta and Taeyong. He was comparing them, seeing if he could possibly be a piece of the same puzzle. Maybe he wasn't the person he thought he was.

Kun would admit that he had always felt different to everybody else. He was far more reserved, especially in his elementary years. But really, he was nothing out of the ordinary. He loved, he hated; he wasn't an empty shell. His only defining factor was his above-average intelligence. He'd lacked any significant goals for the future until high school, where he met Sicheng, Johnny and Taeil. He was introduced to the idea of helping others for reasons other than wealth. His parents had always pushed the idea of having him become a doctor because of status and money. They expected him to comply like some herded sheep. But he didn't, and though they didn't show it, they _were_ disappointed.

He'd been exposed to a fair number of ups-and-downs through the years. Other peoples, that is. Especially those close to him. Before anybody even posed the idea of helping others, Johnny's life was turned upside down. His mother died in an accident, and he hadn't even met his father. He'd become withdrawn from the others, and before they could even get through to him, he'd been rushed to the hospital for a suspected drug overdose. It wasn't intentional, he was just struggling to cope and turned to the wrong type of coping mechanism. He dropped out of school and was in hospital for a while, but eventually, they sent him to counselling. He _hated_ it. Over time, it was obvious to him that they were trying to pick out his flaws and were just attacking him. He wanted to let it all go, to start over. But nothing ever seemed to work in his favor.

Kun and Taeil had been there when Johnny had his first psychotic episode. The former had been far less helpful, just watching as the eldest tried to calm him down. They had no idea what was happening and all they could think of was contacting the hospital. A few psychiatrists later, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and after several serious episodes, they posed the idea of admitting Johnny to an institution, which he was _not_ having. It was then when the three friends decided to stick together and go to university to study psychology. Aside from wanting to help others, Kun had another reason for making that final decision.

He was curious about his differences.

On the surface, he was the same as everybody else, but inside he felt different. After witnessing Johnny at his breaking point, he began to wonder what life had in store for him. If he could help people and discover himself, it would be a win. He had his plan, he just didn't expect it to unfold like it did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little different (and a bit all over the place) but I hope you enjoy more of an insight into some of the other characters!


	31. Bad Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A Week Later..._

After agreeing with his parents to follow some new rules that they put in place, Mark was allowed to return to his normal life. Two days away from the asylum wasn't too bad, and when he returned it was no different to beforehand as Taeyong was also let out again. The only difference was that Doyoung had tagged along, despite them returning to school in less than a week. He told the younger he didn't want to disappoint Jaehyun, who'd he'd been getting along with, and that he wouldn't get in the way. Mark wasn't too bothered. It didn't make a difference to him.

But the day also came around that Kun would be allowed out of Ten's room. It left him on-edge because he genuinely didn't know whether he was actually a risk to him and Taeyong. He _had_ been laughing like a complete madman, after all. He was also aware that he'd witnessed the whole garden kiss endeavor, and even thought everybody already knew, he didn't want him to use that against them. The others seemed to be just as on edge, and Taeil had even considered keeping him in for longer.

They weren't anywhere near the room when he was let out, as Taeyong was adamant to find something he said he'd lost. Mark just stood against the tree and the elder leaned over and literally clawed at the ground. One-handed. He had been talking, but when the elder accidentally flicked dirt into his mouth, he decided to accept the silence. He'd turned away because he felt uncomfortable watching the elder from that particular angle and kicked dirt around on the ground. He heard Taeyong murmur something and turned around as the former blew at the dirt on his hand.

With furrowed eyebrows, Mark looked as the elder made his way over. He eventually stuck his hand out, holding a small daisy. The teen grinned, but he was still confused. "You buried a flower?"

"No, I found it beside the dirt."

That made far more sense. Taeyong placed the flower in Mark's hand and turned back to his working site. Seeing the dirt in his nails, he let out a noise of disapproval and huffed. The caretaker couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not funny!"

"You're the one playing in dirt!"

"I'm not playing," said the elder, "I'm searching."

"For what? What have you lost underground?"

He continued to flick up more dirt, "it's not exactly _lost._ "

"You're not collecting worms, are you?"

"Why would I collect worms?"

The teen shivered, "I hate them, they're disgusting."

"They're just trying to live their lives, just like us."

"Well can they like, not?"

The elder looked back at him with a somewhat angry expression. Mark was taken aback, but he just laughed it off.

"I'm joking."

Taeyong leaned over again and looked around what he'd already unearthed. He couldn't see what he was looking for quite yet. He hadn't thought he'd buried it _that_ deep. He sighed and continued to make a mess of his tree space by displacing soil, examining it for the familiar object. Eventually, there was what seemed to be a black handle risen out of the dirt, and the patient dug around it carefully. He eventually grabbed it, completely removing it from the ground. Mark's eyes widened seeing a very discolored, dirty knife in the elder's hand.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"Self-defense. Just in case Kun tries anything."

The teen didn't think Taeil would be the most enthusiastic if he knew Taeyong was walking around with a knife, but at the same time, he'd prefer the reassurance. He had very little understanding of what was going on with the older caretaker, and the more he spared a thought for him, the less he was understanding.

"I don't think he'll attack us, if that's what you're implying."

"You never know, I'm being safe. I need to protect you."

Mark chuckled. "Should we go inside? I feel like the sun is going to kill me."

Taeyong nodded, wiping his hands to remove the dirt as he hid the knife beneath the rim of his jeans and his shirt temporarily. He was planning on hiding it in his room later, but until then, he needed to move it without being noticed. They made their way inside, and he stuffed the blade under the pile of blankets in the corner. Mark had brought his bag and left it in the room. The patient watched curiously as he pulled out a bottle. The teen seemed to realize that Taeyong was puzzled by the contents of the bottle, and smiled as he furrowed his eyebrows. He'd never considered that such a well-known thing to outsiders would completely confuse him. 

"Is that dirty water?"

"You've never had cola before?" asked Mark.

"No?"

He was startled by the hiss as the teen opened the bottle, and leaned over to examine the liquid further. When the bottle was held in his direction, he looked at the caretaker.

"Try it," said the latter, "people on the outside drink this."

He hesitantly took the bottle and lifted it to his face. He looked inside of the bottle, sniffed it for a second before eventually taking a sip, and he immediately shook his head and swatted at his nose. Mark just laughed at him as he handed it back, scrunching up his nose.

"I don't like it."

"It's not _that_ bad."

"It feels weird," Taeyong added, "people outside are weird."

**~**

Mark had to leave earlier than usual thanks to his parents meddling, leaving Taeyong to entertain himself as the sun was setting. Contrary to belief within the asylum, he'd been thinking about what people were saying around him, and had grown curious again. Only this time, he wasn't going to run away. Instead he stood by the door to Yuta's room, peeking inside as the younger sat facing the back wall.

"Yuta," he spoke loud enough for him to hear, yet still quiet so the others didn't hear from inside the other room, "do you have a moment?"

"I have all the moments you'll need for the next week," he replied, turning slightly, "what is it?"

The elder thought for a moment. "What did you mean when you told Taeil that some people are born killers? Were you?"

"You could say that." He turned around so he was facing the other patient.

"Did you kill as a baby?"

Yuta laughed slightly, "that's not what it means."

"Then what _does_ it mean?"

"Taeyong, you and me are different. My mind is different to yours."

"Isn't everybody's?" he asked, confused.

After a pause, the younger sighed. "You killed to protect yourself and get revenge. Kun killed accidentally to protect himself and us. I kill because I can. It's a little hard to understand, but you know how it feels to be happy. Even though I don't exactly notice what I'm doing until it happens, I feel a strong happiness afterwards."

Taeyong listened quietly. He remembered he hadn't thought much before he attacked his doctor, it just _happened_. The door clicked open and he grabbed the knife without second thought.

"They told me my brain is wired differently to everybody else," Yuta continued, "I wasn't the best behaved child. I fought, stole and broke the law. I have bad blood, that's all. It probably doesn't help that my parents were complete assholes and were both alcoholics."

"So, it's your parents fault? Doesn't that make us similar? I wouldn't be here if I was born into another family."

"But you _learnt_ your behavior. Mine is in my hard-wiring."

He still didn't understand, but he decided against persisting. It'd probably just confuse him further.

"Then... what about Kun? Do you think he'll kill again, because he can?"

"Why do you care? Don't get caught up in all of this psychology stuff, this isn't exactly something you should start wondering about. I know you well enough to know if you think about it enough, you'll try to figure it out for yourself. You might not be like me, but you _are_ capable of taking another life. Before you know it, the list will get longer and longer, and you'll be completely consumed."

"I won't kill anybody, it's bad."

"You've done it before, and you were pretty eager to destroy every last inch of the doc."

Taeyong looked down.

"I just don't want you to make the mistakes I have. You can still prove to the others that you're safe, I know you envy the people out of here. Don't disappoint Mark. He has faith in you too."


	32. Old Habits Die Hard

"Do you think we should wake them up?" Doyoung whispered, looking at the base of the tree where Taeyong was lying on the ground with his head on Mark's thigh. "The storm is on it's way over."

Jaehyun shrugged, and they were paying too much attention to each other to realize the youngest was now looking at them. When he turned back around, Doyoung was startled by the gaze.

"You were awake?" he muttered.

Mark nodded, running his fingers through Taeyong's hair. "I was just relaxing."

"There's a storm coming over. You'll have to come inside soon," said Jaehyun, "or you'll have to try and force Taeyong in the bath."

"I'd prefer to not."

That being said, as he looked down at the elder, he didn't want to wake him up. He looked too peaceful and innocent. He'd feel bad. His onlookers noticed his hesitation, and Jaehyun scoffed.

"He won't bite if you wake him up."

"I don't want to disturb him," Mark replied, "he seemed tired, and it's obvious he was."

"That's probably because he was up all night doing _something_. It sounded like he was sharpening a knife."

It was growing later, and the sky was coated in thick, grey clouds. It wasn't long until they heard a loud rumble and Taeyong's head shot up. Mark was taken aback and looking with wide eyes as the elder stumbled to his feet and quickly climbed up the tree.

Doyoung and Jaehyun both watched, half startled by the thunder and half confused by the older patient's actions.

Taeyong was clung onto a branch, looking up through the leaves to the sky. Mark could tell from what he'd seen before that he was being defensive, even though showing anger at the sky wouldn't do _anything_. The patient was tensed up and let out a quiet growl of his own.

Instead of bursting into laughter like he wanted to, the teen jumped hearing another rumble and stood up. "Taeyong, let's go inside before it rains."

"The sky isn't scared of you," said Jaehyun, "it's fighting back."

Mark looked at him in disbelief. He'd been the one who told him to wake Taeyong up, only to provoke the elder to continue his actions. Doyoung was just watching curiously.

"He _is_ like a dog," he thought out loud and was met by several questioning gazes.

Including Taeyong, who furrowed his eyebrows. He thought for a second, and jumped out of the tree, grabbing Mark's wrist as he made his way over to the door. The other two followed.

"So _now_ you decide to move?"

"It'll start to flash soon, flashing is dangerous."

"It's already flashing, you just can't see it from here," the teen replied.

He noticed how the elder tensed at the mention of the lightning already being there.

"Are you scared of the storm? Were you _actually_ trying to scare it away?"

Jaehyun laughed behind them.

"It's dangerous and loud," Taeyong replied, "and it's an old habit, I know the sky isn't alive."

That was somehow relieving. Mark was glad he wouldn't have to listen to growling for the next few hours. 

**~**

After almost half an hour of convincing Taeyong to let them leave during a break in the storm, Mark and Doyoung left through the window. The patient had freaked out, saying it was dangerous and practically begged them to stay. Well, he begged Mark to stay. But the teen had an agreement with his parents and had to leave from wherever he was at seven, especially with the school term beginning in as little as two days.

"So, what's with you and Jaehyun being glued to each other?" asked the younger.

Doyoung turned to look at him, glaring. "Well, he hasn't attacked me so I'm not too threatened by his presence. But he's the one who seems to always want to talk to me, and I assume that's why I'm allowed here. You can't judge me, you and Taeyong can't keep your hands to yourselves."

"You're making it sound weird."

"So, have you accepted your fate?"

Mark hummed, "there's worse people I could've figured out my sexuality because of."

"There are certainly less crazy people, though."

He earned a stare from the younger as the walked onto the sidewalk from the grass besides the asylum, heading in the direction of the residential section of the town. They hadn't notice the glances they were receiving from across the street, but hearing somebody shouting, they both turned around. Mark's eyes widened seeing Lucas and Jungwoo across the street, heading in their direction.

"Oh no—"

"What are you doing here?" asked Lucas, "I thought we agreed to stay away from that place and forget what happened?"

Doyoung looked at Mark, expecting the younger to speak, but he reacted in a similar manner.

"We... Uh... Made friends with them?"

Jungwoo furrowed his eyebrows at the youngest's uncertain tone. "You _befriended_ a bunch of psychos?"

"Well, I'm only acquainted," said Doyoung, "Mark is _far_ closer to them."

"Do you want to get killed?" asked Lucas.

"They won't kill us."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Jungwoo.

Doyoung looked at Mark, and the latter immediately knew what was coming. "Mark's in love with one of them."

"He's _what_?"

"This is not how this is supposed to go," the youngest groaned, "I knew this would happen eventually, but I was hoping for more time."

"Which one?" asked Lucas, "Don't tell me— it's that one that saved you, isn't it? The one who _attacked_ Jungwoo and Doyoung."

"He didn't attack them, he was just as scared as they were."

"They literally told us he was dangerous. They're killers!"

Doyoung sighed, "they're not as bad as you initially think."

"You could've been stabbed in there, and you decided to go back?"

Lucas had an expression of alarm on his face, surprised and worried for his friends. As far as he was concerned, the people in the asylum were the filth of society. Killers; dangerous beings. They were best locked away from everybody.

"I was looking for Mark, I only recently started going there."

Gazes turned to the youngest of the friends. Jungwoo shook his head. "I'm glad you've found somebody who makes you happy, but you need to remember _who_ they are. They probably wouldn't think twice about killing you."

"You're misunderstanding them. Yes, sometimes things go wrong, but they're not that different to everybody else," said Mark, "you should think about them as people, not monsters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't the longest chapter ever, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless.  
> (Taeyong's growl meant stream Tiger Inside, you should listen to him).  
> :)


	33. Lessons

Taeyong looked up, hearing footsteps growing close to his room. He sat inside, as it'd been raining all day, and was alone because Mark had returned to school. Seulgi soon looked through the door and smiled upon seeing her brother sat inside. His eyes averted to a colorful book in her right hand, and he looked up with a confused expression. He could tell from the illustrations that it was probably a children's book.

"How have you been?" she asked, sitting down cross-legged in front of him, "Did you get into much trouble for running away?"

"I got locked in here for two days," he replied, "it was boring."

"Well, you shouldn't do it again. You don't know what could happen out there."

The patient nodded, looking back to the book in his sister's grasp. "What's that?"

"It's to help you," she replied.

"But I can't read."

"Exactly, I'm going to teach you how to read and write."

Taeyong didn't want to disappoint her, but he was certain that wouldn't work. It wasn't as though he needed to read. Or write, for that matter. They tried to teach him in the orphanage before they passed him over to the psychiatrists entirely, but since he wouldn't even talk to them, they faced issues. It wasn't as though he didn't know anything. He could write his name, numbers up until fifteen and could recognize some Hangul. He was most confident with numbers, as, during his days being locked in a room on the upper floors of the asylum, he'd write them over and over to pass time. But he hadn't touched a pen or pencil in a little over three years. It wasn't as though they were lying around when somebody could—if they set their mind to it—use them as a weapon. 

"Can you remember anything at all? You used to write and draw often," she said, and a smile slipped through. "Though it was hard to read your writing."

"A little bit."

She handed him a pencil and turned to the inside of the cover, tapping on the blank space. "Write what you know."

She never expected to be teaching her twenty-one-year-old brother how to write, but life was full of surprises. He paused, holding the pencil and stared down at the book in thought. Eventually, the pencil made contact with the cover, and he slowly dragged the lead around leaving shaky lines in its path. He soon took his hand away, looking down to check his work. Seulgi turned the page towards her. Taeyong had written his first name, though quite poorly, and he'd forgotten to include one slight detail, which she pointed out.

"These need to be connected," she said, taking the pencil and adding a small line. "Like this."

He nodded. "I can count too."

"Go on, have a go."

He began to write, occasionally pausing to think. Writing each number underneath the last, he eventually had each number between one and fifteen on the cover. They began to squish up towards the end, however, as his writing was quite large. 

"That's good, you should have a decent understanding of the alphabet, I assume?"

The silence on her brother's behalf prompted her to turn the page, where there was a table of the different vowels and he immediately felt put off by all of the unfamiliar accumulations of lines. To him, that's all it was. Some looked familiar, but he couldn't immediately recognize anything, as he was beginning to forget much of what he did know.

"Should we go through these now?" asked Seulgi, looking up to see Taeyong's daunted expression, "You can talk, so you just need to associate these with sounds. Can you do that?"

"I don't know," he frowned, "I don't like them."

She chuckled, "you can give these a try, and if it's too much, we can just come back to them another day."

"You'll come back again?"

"I've already told you, I won't leave you. You have to deal with me until we both grow old now that I have you back."

Taeyong smiled, nodding. He still couldn't remember her, but it was probably better that way. He did feel like he knew her, though, so he felt comfortable with her. If he wasn't lost and practically frozen in terror when she found him, he'd have probably run away. He hated being in unfamiliar environments, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He sat and listened carefully as she explained each of the sounds, giving him examples to understand them better.

It was all overwhelmingly confusing, but he gathered it'd take a while for him to understand completely, and he'd have to work to get there. He thought it'd be nice to write something for Mark once he'd learnt it all, to show off what he knew. The teen was everything to him. He didn't have a lot of people in his life, and half of the time, it felt as though Mark was the only one who didn't pity him, and see him as some weird outcast. 

~

When Mark returned to the asylum—alone, because Doyoung was staying late to study—he made his way into the communal room, where Taeil was busy writing something down. Hearing the door open, he shifted his attention to the teen.

"Taeyong is with Seulgi," he said, "she's teaching him how to read Hangul."

He nodded, making his way over to the wall to sit down. "I'll leave them to it, then."

Kun laughed from further along the wall. Mark had somehow forgotten he was out of confinement. He'd also returned home, since he did still go to university, even if that made everybody nervous, especially with how he was acting.

"Feeling left out?" he asked, rolling his head to face the younger.

"No, I'm giving them some sibling time."

"She's been here since this morning," said Taeil, "we headed onto campus, came back and they were still working."

"I'm surprised he's been able to concentrate for this long," said Kun, and the eldest nodded in agreement.

Mark wasn't too eager to see Taeyong, he was happy that he'd met his sister after all those years. He didn't know why he felt like he did, but it was certainly something along the lines of not being important in his life at that moment. He knew it was stupid.

He kind of wanted to rant to the patient about his first day back in school, and how Myungdae and Hwan had immediately made his life a living hell once again. But it was nothing out of the ordinary. He shouldn't have thought otherwise.

He thought it wouldn't hurt to pass by Taeyong's room slyly. It was nice outside, so he thought it'd be nice to wait outside instead of his thoughts being interrupted by quiet muttering and the sound of pencils on paper. Except the fact it was raining. He didn't know what Taeil was doing, but he seemed completely invested. Of course, Yangyang was also preoccupied, though by his drawing.

As he stood up, the eldest's eyes set on him. “Where are you going?”

“To wait outside.”

“Alright.”

He headed out of the door, and it was as though a burden was completely lifted from him when he reached the hallway. Maybe it was the silence, but he really didn't like sitting in that room without Taeyong by his side. As he walked down the hallway, attempting to pass by without being noticed. Of course, the patient paid far too much attention to his surroundings and caught him.

“Mark!” he exclaimed, but as the teen turned around he hid the book behind him.

“I'm just going outside until you're done—”

“It's alright, I should probably go back home now anyway. My roommate will be wondering where I am,” said Seulgi.

“Who is your roommate?”

She laughed slightly, “he's just a work friend.”

Taeyong frowned as she stood up to leave. He was beginning to enjoy himself, having a goal to work towards.

“I'll come back soon,” she said, and the patient nodded.

Mark felt guilty, seeing her leave. “Sorry, I interrupted you.”

Taeyong shook his head and pulled him into the room, quickly hiding the book under his blankets, alongside the knife.

“I missed you,” said the elder, hugging Mark abruptly.

The teen was taken aback as the patient practically buried his face into him, but he eventually smiled. “I've missed you too.”


	34. Plan Of Action

Between sitting silently and quiet chatter, Mark and Taeyong made their way into the communal room. Taeil had hardly even taken his eyes from the notebook in his hands as they walked in, only looking up for a second to confirm the presence. But a few moments later, he stood up and made his way over to them, ignoring all of the glances.

"What is it?" asked Mark suspiciously.

"I have a proposal."

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows, watching carefully as the eldest handed the teen a book.

"We need to make some changes to certain aspects of Taeyong's behavior," he spoke, "so I've formulated a plan to reward and punish him as necessary."

The patient sighed at the mention of punishments, and Mark looked down at the book in his hand. "Positive reinforcement?"

"Are you going to give him a sticker?" Johnny joked.

"Yes, actually."

"Sticker..?"

Taeil flipped to the next page, revealing a chart. He picked up a loose sheet and handed it to Taeyong. "Every one of these is something positive you do. When you collect five, you get a reward."

"Like going outside?" he asked, looking at the small gold stars. "Can me and Mark go outside together?"

"Not yet, you have to prove yourself after that stunt you pulled the other day."

"I don't get how this will help," said Mark, "I don't think stickers are a very good motivation."

He looked at Taeyong beside him who was closely examining the sheet of stars, and Taeil chuckled. "I don't think we'll have to worry about a lack of motivation. He understands that the more stars mean a better reward, it's not _that_ hard to fathom."

"What do I have to do?"

"It's simple, really. For one star, you could _not_ argue with anybody. Or, you could help somebody. Positive behavior will be rewarded," Taeil explained, "that being said, if you run away, hurt anybody or—not that I think you will—kill anybody, you'll get either one or all of your stars taken away and you'll be locked in your room like usual, and won't be able to see Mark."

Taeyong frowned, "no Mark?"

"No Mark. So you have to be good, okay?"

The teen sat listening quietly, he didn't mind being the patient's motivation, but he didn't expect to be included in the punishment. Taeyong nodded energetically at Taeil's question and the eldest smiled in accomplishment.

"Also, we will have to work on better ways for you to deal with your anger. You can't respond violently. I understand it's embedded in there—" he tapped his head, "—but you can't, under _any_ circumstance, react with violence. That's not allowed on the outside, or in here."

"What if Johnny hurts me?"

"Then he'll be the one getting in trouble."

The eldest patient scoffed, "I wouldn't waste my strength."

"Just walk away if anybody tries to fight with you. Be the bigger person."

"But... Johnny is taller than me—"

Taeil just sighed, smiling. "Okay, be the better person then."

Mark laughed quietly and the patient looked at him in confusion. He didn't know what was amusing him but he smiled anyway. The younger's laugh was contagious to him, always lifting his mood.

**~**

Light shone through the open window as a detective—known as Detective Kim—sat in his office. Tapping his pen on his wooden desk, he looked down at a file. He'd been in the force for almost fifteen years. He'd seen his fair share of cases. But one was resurfacing, after years of it not moving even the slightest in any direction. It was at a standstill, but recently, with disappearances circling around the infamous asylum, Detective Kim found himself once again placed on the investigation team for the location.

He'd been there before. It wasn't as scary as people said it was. He'd been there when it was open, visiting a patient that his efforts had given another chance at life, and also once it closed. The second time, however, he didn't get much further than the first floor as he was called out. The locals had reported activity, and while it _was_ abandoned, it was far too dangerous to live in. He'd been under the impression that homeless youth were living said, from what the locals had told him.

The patient, who was only young at the time he was admitted, was a strange case for Detective Kim. He wasn't a criminal, _originally._ He hadn't expected his murder investigation to turn into a rescue mission. Neither had his then partner, Detective Nam. It stuck with them both for a long while after they managed to solve the case, while also opening another. They hadn't been long into their career, only a mere four years when the rescue took place in two-thousand and nine.

Of course, the patient was Lee Taeyong. He was admitted to the asylum to be treated for Antisocial Personality Disorder, with the intention to rehabilitate him and send him on his way. Or, that's what they were told. When he was admitted six years later—at age sixteen, despite it being an adult-dominated facility—they had visited him once. Taeyong had never shown any interest in interacting with them, but when they visited him in his room, the tense environment faded. The child they once saved from the old farm spared them a glance, and he _smiled_ at them.

Detective Kim considered that a success. While he wanted to return, the doctors wouldn't allow him to, nor would they allow his partner. They had to move on. Even when the news spread that he'd been killed by his doctor, who later disappeared. They had to continue working, he was only a small aspect of their life; they had more people to protect.

All members of the immediate family met tragic ends, all but Mr Lee's daughter, Seulgi.

But something wasn't right. On the desk before him was Taeyong's file, as well as a recent photo of a very similar-looking young man who'd run around the town's market covered in blood. Detective Kim wouldn't have thought for a moment that he'd somehow have survived. In addition to that, two people had disappeared inside of the asylum, and he'd had a concerned phone call from a parent, notifying the police that youth had been taking an interest in the building.

The case wasn't over. Somebody was in there, and Taeyong might have been alive. It was all sudden. The total number of disappearances from the asylum was nine, but there hadn't been a disappearance in close to a year. Originally, they were just supposed to relocate the inhabitants. But over time, it became an investigation into a string of disappearances, which most detectives believed were actually murders. After all, a patient of the asylum _did_ escape. Nakamoto Yuta, who was notorious for being unpredictable and often violent, disappeared along with two staff members.

It began to make sense to Detective Kim. If Taeyong was alive, he'd be living inside of the asylum with Yuta, and probably others. They both had violent tendencies. It was more than likely a murder investigation, and their suspects were former patients of the asylum. Though he hoped Taeyong was innocent, he knew he was ill. It didn't really surprise him that he'd become violent.

As another part of the investigation, he had to question the only person who had entered the asylum, and later returned injured, and was later diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A police officer—though he soon retired after the incident—had formerly gone inside after following somebody. He came out several hours later, after sustaining two stab wounds to his waist and head trauma.

Detective Kim stood up, taking Taeyong and Yuta's files with him. The officer had been summoned, though his family had practically begged them not to ask more about what happened. But he himself agreed, wanting to try his best to help the case proceed. The Detective made his way to the interrogation room, closing the door gently behind him and he hurried to sit down.

“Mr Yoon? It's nice to meet you,” said Detective Kim, bowing.

The older man shook his head. “I'm nobody special. Now please, don't worry about formalities. Ask away.”

“Alright,” the younger took out a notebook and looked through the paper he brought with him. “Can you tell me what happened to you when you were investigating the asylum?”

“I was looking around for a while. I must have gotten too laid-back, I convinced myself that the young man I was following was just exploring. I was going to warn him away from the premises, but I lost him.”

“Was he the one who attacked you?”

“No, I didn't see that man again after that. But on my way out, somebody ran up behind me and took me into a room. I should've been more alert,” he spoke hesitantly, gulping. “He was only young. I tried to fight back, but he stabbed me as soon as I moved. I asked him if he had family, the usual. I was trying to guilt-trip him into coming with me to the station, but he just ignored me. He stabbed me again, right beside the other wound.”

Detective Kim was writing notes as he listened, nodding attentively.

“I collapsed, and he just sat and stared at me for a while. He had an eerily blank expression the whole time. Eventually, he tossed the knife aside and began dragging me through the hallway. I was sure I was done for, but he pulled me into a room where two others were sat and I could hardly see them, but if I tried to get up he'd kick me back down.”

“Did you get a good look at the one who attacked you?”

He nodded. “He was thin, _incredibly_ thin. He had quite bushy black hair, too. He was wearing a restraint suit and the asylum's usual trousers, but it looked like the suit had been cut off.”

Detective Kim looked up. Looking at the files before him, he picked up Taeyong's file and looked for a photo of him.

“Does this look like him?”

“That's him. No doubt about it,” Mr Yoon replied, “he's been out in public?”

“Yes, but don't worry. We're looking for him. This is Lee Taeyong, he was a former patient there.”

The older man's jaw hung open. “The boy from the farm?”

“Yes. That's him now. I can't say too much, but we believe he's being cared for by somebody.”

“Another thing,” said the elder, “about one of the other men from the asylum. He seemed to tell Taeyong off, but he didn't say _anything_. I suppose that makes sense now since he couldn't talk. That man didn't seem like he wanted to harm anyone. He almost passed out when he saw me.”

Detective Kim took out a photo of Yuta. “Him?”

“No, not him. But he was there.”

“So there's another?”

“There was three, plus the one I followed.”

“How did you escape?”

“Well,” Mr Yoon began, “I was dragged back into the room by the others' orders, and Taeyong just sat in the room for a while.”

The Detective raised an eyebrow. The former patient's behavior seemed odd.

“He picked up the knife again,” the officer placed his hand on his neck, hesitating. “He tried to slit my throat, but it didn't do much damage. He barely used much strength, it was as though he was more curious than anything.”

“Like he was experimenting?”

“Exactly like that.”

Detective Kim felt a chill. He could see the man sat before him tremble, and frowned.

“He's a monster. I understand that he went through a lot, but—” he sighed. “—That can't be excused. I fear that I'm not the only one he's attacked.”

“We currently don't know much about what he's done, but he likely killed his doctor in retaliation, and there are plenty more people that have gone missing.”

“Please, whatever you do, get those patients out of the public. I don't care much for pressing charges against him, but he needs to continue some moral treatment. He's dangerous. All of them are, as far as I'm concerned.”

“We'll get them, don't you worry about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Remember, there's always two sides to every story._
> 
> Also, I apologize for the incredibly late update, I started college last week and though I'm only in three days, I don't think I'll manage with the daily updates for now. I might, depending on how fast I write each chapter.


	35. Under The Earth

During the lunch break in school, it was just Mark and Doyoung at the table. Lucas and Jungwoo were supposedly at a club, even though they were sure there were none. They knew better than to question them. After finishing his sandwich, Doyoung began to rummage through his bag, and Mark furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you up for a challenge?" asked the former.

"No?"

Doyoung laughed at the younger's uncertainty. "I borrowed a book from my mother."

"I'm not reading anything."

"It's about behavioral psychology," said the elder, ignoring his friend's reluctance, "it should be useful information to help you with Taeyong."

"Taeil does all of the smart stuff, not me. I'm just Taeyong's company."

"Don't you want to be more helpful?"

"Of course I do," Mark sighed.

Doyoung placed the book down on the table, and the younger took one look, before awkwardly looking up at his friend. "You're getting more into this than I am."

"I have the resources to help and the knowledge from a professional. I'm doing what's right."

"Okay, I'll read it when I have the time."

The older friend nodded, but Mark could tell he wasn't finished. He _knew_ Doyoung was aware that he wasn't a fan of reading.

"So, everything Taeyong knows now is learnt. That's easy to understand. How he acts is down to his environment when he was growing up, and now. He lived with dogs, so he growls every now and again. It's also safe to assume he's gone through his fair share of physical abuse because he uses violence as a means to solve his problems too."

"Why are you _obsessed_ with the whole dog thing?"

Doyoung shrugged. "I think it's interesting. Because of his environment, he began to learn the dogs' behavior. It just shows that really, _anything_ is possible. It's happened before. He's not the first person to live alongside animals and pick up on their behavior. But in our country? He's the first one."

"Why does that matter?"

"The country situation doesn't. It's the fact that human children can be raised by another species that amazes me."

"Right... you're odd," said Mark.

"I know," the elder replied, somehow sounding proud of his abnormal fascination.

**~**

Taeyong sat cross-legged, looking at the piece of paper pinned to the wall. He'd gotten three stickers by the end of the week, as he'd been eager help with easy tasks, which was usually just cleaning while the caretakers were away. He did have four, but after hitting Johnny, he had one taken away. He understood what he could and couldn't do, but sometimes, the eldest patient just got on his nerves more than usual. He was purposefully trying to start arguments to sabotage him.

"You won't gain more by looking at it," said Jaehyun, "why don't you surprise Taeil by doing something without asking him first?"

"Like what?"

"Why don't you feed the spiders you like hanging out with?" Johnny suggested, joking.

But of course, Taeyong took him seriously. "What do spiders eat?"

"They eat blood."

The patient's eyes widened, but Jaehyun scoffed.

"He's lying. They eat anything, but I doubt Taeil cares about the spiders eating."

"Then what about the mice?"

"You'll scare them, we've already talked about this. And Taeil also doesn't care about them."

Taeyong frowned. "Taeil is mean."

"He's normal. People don't like bugs and mice," said Johnny.

"Does Mark?"

"Probably not."

"Then... should I clean the body room?"

Ten looked up from the ground where he was flicking around stones. "That's disgusting. Why would you even _ask?_ "

"You could bury the bodies," said Jaehyun.

"Will you help?"

"No. I'm not going anywhere near decaying bodies."

"I'll do it, then," Taeyong finalized, standing up.

He stretched his arms as he made his way over to the door, pulling it open. Yuta hadn't been paying any attention to any of them, sat silently in the main room, as he'd been allowed to leave. Taeyong headed towards the entrance to where the bodies were. They didn't really bother him. He hated the scent, but other than that, he didn't really care.

He opened the door and stepped in, swatting flies away from the corpses. He looked down the hallway to make sure nobody was going to be in his way and began to drag the first body by its ankles. They'd never really buried any bodies before. Most of them were on the second floor or were far past the time that they had a scent, so they remained in their rooms, untouched.

Taeyong wasn't the strongest. He didn't have the most muscle in the world, but still, he dragged the body, walking backwards as he made his way down the hallway. It was going to take a while. He'd never moved one that far. Luckily, they'd both passed the hard-to-move stage and moved just like somebody who was alive would. Just with less struggling. The blood was also dry, so he didn't have to worry about cleaning the trail up afterwards.

He pulled the body towards the door. Passing his room, he paused, looking in. The could the tip of the knife from among the blankets. He looked at the corpse's wounds, and to the knife. In an empty pondering, he was about to grab the knife when he heard the door behind him. He turned to see Yuta looking at him. The younger's presence knocked him out of his thoughts, and his attention was taken from the knife.

"Do you need some help?"

"Are you sure? Everybody else seems to hate the idea."

Yuta shrugged. "Well, I _did_ kill one of them."

"Why?" asked Taeyong as he continued dragging the body.

"I've already told you, and everyone else. She was carrying a camera around and she saw me. My mind went blank, and I just struck at her. My mind was a bit hazy, but when I realized, I had a knife piercing her skin," Yuta explained, "but I didn't stop, she was already going to die anyway."

"I still don't understand you... Why is it all so complicated?"

"It's better if you leave the understanding to the psychologists."

When they reached the garden, Yuta helped pull the body onto the grass. They moved the man first. He was further decomposed, so it just made sense to get him dealt with. Taeyong knelt down on the grass, patting the surface. He knew it would take a while to dig so much earth up, but it was worth the stickers on his chart. If Taeil was in a good mood, maybe he'd give him two; one per body.

"Do we have any digging tools?" asked the older patient.

"Why would we?" Yuta replied, "They're perfect weapons."

Without second thought, Taeyong dug his hands into the dirt and pull it away from the surface. He'd already re-covered the ground where he hid the knife, and he didn't want to have any corpses near his tree. Yuta began to dig too, laughing as he flicked it in the other patient's direction.

"This is surprisingly fun for burying bodies."

Taeyong chuckled as the Japanese patient threw mud at him, and threw some back in response. The elder got up, running across the enclosed garden as Yuta continued to throw it at him, completely forgetting about the task at hand.

"Taeil will literally kill us," he laughed, and Taeyong nodded.

Kneeling down to pick up a large amount of mud, the elder received a mud-ball to the back of the head and turned around scowling. Yuta immediately ran from him and tried to hide behind a tree, only to be hunted down and Taeyong threw his collection of dirt in his face.

"Okay okay, let's just call this a tie and get this body hidden," said the younger.

"Fine," the other patient sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're officially 35 chapters in! This story is going to be hella long by the time it's finished. Anyways, this is just a short, peaceful update for today. The next chapter might even be up later. Some of you can already tell things are about to kick off again ;)


	36. Abduction

**—FLASHBACK—**

Taeyong lay on the ground, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He wasn't sure if he was going to die. His stomach had been practically screaming to be fed, he felt like he was going to throw up his last meal at any moment, focusing on breathing so he could distract himself from the uncomfortable feeling. He couldn't move his arms easily, as they were strapped across his body, minimizing his movement. He turned his head, his eyes landing on the knife beside him. It was all he was left with.

He'd been thrown into the room by his doctor from the white room he'd been staying in beforehand. He was given no food, no drink. Only the knife. He thought they could've at least changed him out the restraints—also known as a straitjacket—and allowed him to keep his usual button-up ward shirt. He was sure three nighttime cycles had passed since he was locked inside, hearing people walking past on the first day. He heard the workmen on the second day. On the third, the asylum fell silent.

He was hours away from succumbing to his hunger and the bitterly cold air. He groaned, turning his head as he clenched his eyes shut. If he'd have been physically capable of doing so, he'd have just cut the process short with the help of the blade beside him. He knew that's what they wanted—it was what everyone wanted from him. They wanted him gone. He was a monster, an outcast.

He let out a sigh, rolling himself towards the knife. He stared at it for a while, his dark eyes examining the blade's sharp edge. If only he could've moved his arms. While everyone wanted him to disappear, he didn't doubt that they were purposefully taunting him.

He was getting bored. His mind was under-stimulated, he needed to do _something._ He closed his eyes, listening carefully to his surroundings. There was definitely somebody nearby.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

He kicked the door, though he was taken aback by the cold surface.

"Four."

"Five."

"Six."

He decided to try and change his own situation. Tugging at his arms, he attempted to make the straitjacket come loose. But it was no good. They were made to be resistant, after all. He would have shouted, but he feared what would happen if he did. He didn't want to be hit. He was becoming restless. With a struggle, he sat up. He hated being caged. Stumbling to his feet, he charged at the door with force. The only result was him falling backwards, and he, as quietly as he could, groaned in frustration.

But he wouldn't give in. He stood up again, and instead began to kick the door. He just needed to get somebody's attention. If the door was opened, he could escape. People were harsh, but he doubted they'd let him struggle and instead set him free from the torturous jacket.

He heard the door click on the other side and his eyes widened. When the door opened, his face immediately dropped. His doctor was still there, he hadn't left him. Worst of all, he was standing before him looking extremely agitated. Taeyong stepped back, but he was soon met by a kick to the stomach. The door closed with a thud, and the doctor grabbed onto him, pulling him up from the ground.

"Who told you that you could make any noise?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Taeyong clenched his eyes shut, trying to take his doctor's hand away from him. The patient quivered, his heart racing in his chest. His doctor stood up, only to kick him again, snickering as he moved his head to shield himself.

"Stay quiet. I don't want to hear the slightest noise from you, or you know what will happen."

Taeyong avoided making eye contact with the doctor as he sat on the ground, trying to push himself away. He flinched as the doctor moved, relieved to see the man walking away, but he soon turned back around, kneeling down in front of the patient again.

"Turn around," he said sternly, grabbing his arm.

He wouldn't move. Completely frozen, his eyes followed his doctor as the latter forced him to turn around. He tensed up as the elder began to undo one of the jacket's buckles. Pulling the long sleeve from the back, he let it fall, and Taeyong could finally move one of his arms. His eyes widened as the doctor grabbed the knife, and his eyes scanned him.

"Come here."

The patient hesitantly complied. Abruptly, an arm was wrapped around his neck and the knife was pressed against his skin. Taeyong drew a sharp breath and shakily grabbed his doctor's arm to pull it away.

"You don't want to repeat last week, do you?"

A hand was placed on the patient's forehead, and he pushed the latter's hair away to trace the large gash on his head.

"End it yourself. Nobody cares about people like you."

Taeyong quickly inhaled as the knife was taken away from his neck, and placed his hand in its place. The knife's handle was slipped into his hand and his doctor walked towards the door. Hearing the door close, he immediately dropped the knife and swallowed back a lump in his throat. He crouched in the corner of the room, hugging his legs with his free arm. His eyes averted to the knife, and he gulped.

**—END OF FLASHBACK—**

Wrapped in a towel and his blankets, Taeyong sighed as he looked at the open door. In was night, and he was sure it was far past the time when they're usually locked in their rooms, but, as Taeil was back in University, he told them he wouldn't have time to return in the morning from his apartment to let them out, so he left them food that they could eat in the morning and kept the doors open. He placed Ten in charge—even though it was usually Johnny—and left once the sun was completely gone. He trusted that everybody would behave. Taeyong had no intentions of doing otherwise, he was just going to sleep after the stress of both him and Yuta being forced into the tub. 

To say Taeil was enraged when he came back to see them both covered in dirt, stinking of corpse and that the garden was a complete mess, would be an understatement. He refused to give Taeyong any praise, telling him that he can't just move around the bodies. It was a "hazard to health", he had said. He told him it'd make him sick, and that was all it took to convince him. The man's body was half buried, and Taeil _did_ give him permission to bury the rest of it as soon as the sun came up. He could still smell the corpse on him, even after being bathed.

Taeyong heard gentle snoring from down the hallway and turned onto his side. He hadn't seen Mark all day, as the younger was busy and, for whatever reason, couldn't even come after school. He assumed it was the teen's parents being difficult. They seemed to be pestering him more recently, which made the patient concerned. 

He was sure he heard movement from down the hallway, and covered himself with his blanket as he heard footsteps growing near. He didn't know who'd be awake at that time, the sun was long gone and he was sure everybody was asleep. He furrowed his eyebrows, seeing a torch light shining down the hallway. He could hear unfamiliar voices and immediately sat up. He ran out of his room, abandoning his towel and headed straight towards the ladder to the crawlspace. He hurried along, trying to be as silent as possible, when he came across a vent and peeked through the gap. 

A group of three men were inside. Taeyong had a feeling of deja-vu, seeing a suited man with what seemed to be two police officers walking through the main room. As he continued through the crawlspace, he could hear them moving around the building. He assumed they'd continue on making their way further inside, but it sounded like they were walking back the way they came. He began to panic, picking up his speed as he crawled through the tunnel. He stopped again to look through a vent, but, seeing them nowhere, he looked around in the tunnel.

He needed to get Taeil or Mark. They could deal with the situation.

He continued, hurrying towards the front exit. His hand began to bleed again, he could feel the stinging of the wound being disturbed. But his he felt like his heart was going to explode. It was terrifying; somebody could take him away. His breaths came out quickly and unevenly, he wanted to pause and sit still for a while to calm himself down, but he couldn't. He needed to escape. He couldn't react with violence, or Mark would be taken away from him. He soon got to the end of the tunnel, but immediately froze. He could see the suited man. He backed up, trying to hide himself. He covered his mouth with his arm, his chest still rising and falling rapidly. The man was on a call. Taeyong had seen Mark call his parents before. He wished the teen was with him.

The man placed his phone in his pocket, and sighed. Turning around, his eyes scanned the ladder room, and the patient froze. He hoped he couldn't see him. He heard the crumbling of debris and glass on the ground, and moved back further. But something alarmed him. As he turned around—hearing a sound in the tunnel—a hand covered his mouth.

Somebody was firmly gripping onto him, and trying to stop him from moving.

"Detective," the man behind him muttered, "I've got one. Up here."

The man turned around, and made his way over to the ladder, looking in, his eyes widened. He looked down at a photograph. Taeyong was squirming in the man's grasp, whining to be set free. 

"That's him. Bring him down."

The patient was pushed, trying to get him to move. The detective closed the door to the ladder's room, making sure he wouldn't make a run for it immediately. After some further prompting, Taeyong was down the ladder, a hand still covering his mouth as the man refused to let go of him. The patient jumped, hearing static, followed by a voice coming through a device clipped onto the man's uniform.

_"I've got one, there's several more. They're all asleep."_

The detective grabbed the device, since the officer was preoccupied holding Taeyong, who began to struggle more.

"I told you we should've brought some tranquilizer or something," the officer complained.

The detective shook his head, pressing down a button on the device. "We've got Lee Taeyong, make your way over to the entrance and we'll come back for the rest."

There was an answer on the other side, and the patient tried once again to run when the door was opened. He was dragged out of the room, but they came to an abrupt stop as the detective looked down the hallway. Yuta was stood staring back at them, with the knife from Taeyong's room clenched in his hand.

"I'd let him go if I was you."

The older patient tried to speak, but it came out muffled. Soon after, he saw the other officer walk around the corner holding Ten, and everybody looked at Yuta.

"Drop the weapon and come with us quietly," said the detective, reaching for his pocket.

The patient looked around. "Let them both go."

The officer holding Taeyong sighed. "Can we hurry up? He stinks of decaying bodies and he won't stand still."

"Where are the missing people?" asked the detective.

"Dead, and you'll be added to the list if you don't get your filthy hands off them."

"We're going to get you all some help. We're _helping_ you."

"Two of us are legible to go on death row. You're _not_ going to help us."

He set his hand on the gun in his pocket and signaled for the officers to take the other patients outside. Ten was also resisting, but less, and was trembling as the officer firmly held onto him.

"We're not going to put anybody on death row."

Yuta scoffed. "What about prison?"

"I can't speak for the court. That isn't down to me."

"Then, neither is whether we get put on death row."

The officer began to make his way to the door with Taeyong, and the Japanese patient pointed the knife at him.

"I'll ask you again, come peacefully, or we'll have to take you by force."

"As if you will," Yuta scoffed.

Sighing, the detective took out the gun. They weren't usually allowed to carry guns in Korea, but as everybody knew how risky it was to go into the asylum unarmed, he was granted permission to take one. He was trained, but he'd never used one before. He didn't want it to be his first time, either. "Drop the knife."

Yuta's face dropped. He'd consider himself rather fearless, but there was one thing everybody feared. Death.

"Come with us. This is an abnormal situation for all of us, I can't tell you what will happen."

The patient furrowed his eyebrows and lowered to the ground. Placing the knife down, he put his arms up, seeing no other way out of the situation. He kicked it and it collided with the wall. The detective made his way over, and grabbed Yuta's arms, leading him out behind the officer and Taeyong. The other two followed behind them. They left through the door, which they had forced open, and they were met by another officer and a police escort van. A sigh escaped the Japanese patient's lips, leaving a small cloud in the bitter air. It was all too familiar. Just minus the handcuffs. Taeyong was put into the back of the van first, and only then did the officers take out handcuffs, forcing him to sit down on the ground as they cuffed him to the side chair's leg. The others were dealt with in a similar manner.

When the door slammed shut, Ten looked at the other patients. "What do we do now? What if they find the others—"

"They probably already have," Yuta replied, "we're done for."

He heard the youngest sniffle, and looked over to see Taeyong resting his head on the seat. Aside from him pulling at his bandages, he just stared down at the ground plainly. But Yuta knew he was probably terrified on the inside.

"You two will probably be admitted to an institution, but it's either a cell or a lethal injection chair for me."

The eldest looked up. "What's that?"

"Death, to put it simply."

Taeyong's eyes widened and he returned to his prior position. After a short while, they heard talking from beyond the van.

"We lost them. They must have heard us and have hidden. We'll come back in the morning for them, I'll ask the station to send some more officers to keep an eye on the building."

"Mark..." the eldest patient said suddenly, "Will they let me see Mark?"

"Probably not—"

He immediately began pulling at the handcuffs, but it was no good. He couldn't break through metal. No way. He abruptly slammed his head off the corner of the chair, causing Ten to jump.

"Hey, don't do that," said Yuta, gently kicking him, as he couldn't reach otherwise.

"We have to get out of here."

"How?" asked Ten curiously, struggling to wipe his eyes. "I've successfully stayed away from an institution for this long... only for my efforts to fail all in one night."

"I don't know how," Taeyong replied, frowning.

Yuta sighed. Comforting people wasn't really his thing. "It'll be fine. Taeil won't give up on us. He didn't give up on me when I killed again, he's a tough one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any thoughts? What do you think will happen next?
> 
> Also, I've re-done the description and will be re-writing the warning note, too. Don't be alarmed if it looks different. I just want to make the front page thing look better.


	37. Apprehended

Taeil yawned, making his way into the asylum. As he climbed through the window, he was hardly paying any attention to his surroundings. He didn't feel the need too. To him, it was a normal day. Aside from staying awake extra late the night before, preparing some work for university. As it was their final year, they were all busy, as much as he wanted to ask Mark and Doyoung to take over for a while, he knew he couldn't. After all, it was their final year of high school. He gathered the latter especially wouldn't be too thrilled about being distracted from his studies. He didn't exactly know why Jaehyun was taking a liking in him, but it wasn't his place to question it. He didn't have any significant concerns about the patient. He knew what he was doing.

He made his way into the main room, but when he opened the door, he was surprised to see Mark already there, and also, Seulgi was beside him. He looked around, stepping in. Johnny and Jaehyun were there. The others, however, weren't. He furrowed his eyebrows, and when he looked closer, he realized how Mark sat with his fist clenched, his lips curved into a frown and an expression he'd never seen the younger have before. Seulgi looked worried, she immediately looked at him and stood up. He noted how she avoided his gaze, before looking up at him almost cautiously. It was beginning to freak him out. Something wasn't right. "What happened? Where is everyone?"

He looked in the corner. Johnny was also silent. Normally, he'd be the first to greet him. Everybody looked down. The silence was adding to the caretaker's suspicion, and it made him uneasy. He gulped, turning to Jaehyun. The patient was clearly nervous. He caught onto the elder's glance, and he looked at the ground. He cleared his throat as Taeil raised an eyebrow, beginning to panic.

"Can somebody _please_ tell me what is going on?"

Seulgi sighed, taking out her phone. He watched her carefully as she seemed to look for something, and before long, she handed him the device. He looked at her in confusion, but took the phone and began to read the article displaying. His eyes widened.

_"Patients found living in abandoned asylum."_

His heart sank. The color immediately drained from his face and he covered his mouth in surprise. It was exactly what he feared. Everybody knew.

_"In the early hours of September 10th, police investigating the site connected to a series of disappearances finally apprehended the inhabitants of the now abandoned Namhyeon Insane Asylum_ — _later re-named Namhyeon Psychiatric Center_ — _who have reportedly been living in the dangerous building since it's closure in October 2017. Those apprehended include Lee Taeyong, who was formerly reported to have passed away in the premises, Nakamoto Yuta, a patient who disappeared during transportation to the new site with two staff members and finally, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, who was reported missing by his psychiatrist after being deemed a hazard to his own health. It is assumed there are more inhabitants yet to be apprehended. Police are asking locals to report any suspicious activity in the area, and are asking those with knowledge of a group of young men who have reportedly been caring for them illegally. The police have yet to search for the bodies of the missing people, as their priority is assuring the safety of the public."_

Taeil passed the phone back to Seulgi and sighed. "This isn't good. This is _not_ good at all."

"We heard people last night," Johnny began, "we hid before they could get us, but we heard Yuta arguing with them. He had a knife."

"A knife? Where is it now?"

"It was in the hallway," Seulgi replied, "did you not see it?"

"I passed it? I would have noticed a knife."

Jaehyun stood up, letting out a sigh. "I'll go look, figure something out."

Taeil agreed, nodding. He inhaled deeply, running his hands through his hair. He'd thought most things through, but he hadn't imagined they'd get caught. Even the police were too scared to enter the building, thanks to the stories, but the dual disappearance in recent weeks must have alerted them. He could imagine what the patients were going through. He was more concerned about Taeyong and Ten, as Yuta _had_ been arrested before. Several times throughout his youth, in fact. But the other two were probably terrified. Ten didn't need the extra stress, by far, and Taeyong certainly shouldn't have been thrown straight into an unfamiliar environment where everybody looked down on him. They'd made so much progress with him, but it had all have gone to waste. If they ever even got him back, they'd be right back at step one.

That being said, what scared the caretaker more was what would happen thereon. Not only to the patients, but to him and the other caretakers, too. Even Mark and Doyoung. As he thought, he remembered something, and he looked around. He caught the other's attentions, and they all looked at him. "Where is Kun? He said he was coming here instead of—" his eyes widened, "—university."

"The knife," said Johnny, in realization and he cursed.

"Maybe he's disposing of it," said Seulgi.

Of course, she didn't know. She didn't really need to, until then. If he was wandering around the building with a knife, while he was in an unpredictable and unfamiliar state, _everybody_ needed to know.

"He's... going through something right now," said Taeil.

Johnny scoffed. "Yeah, murderous impulses."

"And he was _caring_ for people?"

"Not exactly."

Mark was sat silently. He'd hardly noticed that he was digging his nails into his hand, stuck completely consumed in his thoughts. He was worried about Taeyong—more than worried, actually. He gulped, his eyes practically glued to the ground. He dug his nails deeper and jumped in surprise when Taeil placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Stop it," he said quietly, moving the teen's hands away. "We'll get him back. I promise."

As the caretaker stood up, the door was slammed open and Jaehyun practically fell into the room. He rolled onto his back, holding his hand over a spot on his abdomen as blood seeped through his fingers. He was almost hyperventilating, taking short and frequent breaths. Mark stood up, now completely snapped out of his thoughts. Taeil hurried over to Jaehyun's side and held down on the wound. "Somebody get me something to soak the blood up with."

Seulgi also ran and knelt beside him as Johnny left the room to find something. Mark didn't know what to do. He felt useless, standing watching at the others panicked. He couldn't think straight.

"I-I found the knife," said Jaehyun, still gasping. "Kun has it."

"Where is he?" asked Taeil.

"Door... waiting for the cops."

Johnny soon ran back in holding a towel, and threw it into the caretaker's grasp. He immediately moved Jaehyun's hand and placed the towel on the wound, pressing down to stop the bleeding.

"I tried to get the knife..." Jaehyun closed his eyes, covering his face with his cleaner hand.

"You've done well," Taeil muttered, "you've done well. It's alright. Hold on, we'll take you to the hospital."

"Hospital?" Johnny practically gasped, looking at the caretaker with wide eyes.

"I can't let him die, a knife is _far_ longer than a fork head, Johnny."

Seulgi looked over Jaehyun, pulling his shirt up and getting Taeil to place his hand and the towel back down. "I don't think any major arteries have been damaged. He'd probably have already died, or will die in the next few minutes."

"I-It hurts."

"Try not to talk," said Seulgi.

She turned to Taeil, who was too busy paying attention to the patient to even notice.

"Shouldn't you go and deal with Kun if we need an ambulance? I'll take over here."

Hesitantly, he nodded. "Alright. I'll try to talk to him. Can you call the ambulance?"

"I will."

Taeil stood up, and even though Johnny tried to follow him, he shook his head at him. The younger was looking at him with a soft expression.

"I don't want you to get injured too," said the elder, "stay here."

"But—"

"But nothing. I don't think Kun will hurt me."

He could swear Johnny was shaking slightly, and gulped as the younger reached out for him, taking his arm away.

"It'll be fine," Taeil promised.

As quickly as he could, imagining Mark _wasn't_ staring at them, the caretaker planted a kiss on the younger's lips. He moved away, heading to the door, and Johnny frowned. Seeing the elder disappear beyond the door, the patient sat down in his corner. He wiped away a tear that had managed to escape his eyes, acting as though he wasn't about to burst out crying. He didn't want Taeil to get hurt, but he didn't want to assume Kun was going to hurt him either.

On the other side of the door, the elder sighed. He practically sprinted down the hallway, just hoping that there wouldn't be a pile of bodies waiting in the hallway. He didn't know what was going on with Kun. He'd been thinking about it, and the more he thought, the more he was confused. It was evident that his guilt had turned to a distorted heroism. To Taeil, it seemed like—with lack of a better word—he was quite literally going insane. Of course, being "insane" wasn't actually a thing, it wasn't a diagnosis nor was it professional to use such a term, but he had no other term to use. He certainly couldn't just diagnose his friend. Especially with such little understanding of what was going on in his head.

Relieved to see there wasn't a pile of bodies, Taeil turned the corner. Kun was pacing backwards and forwards, the knife gripped in his hand. He immediately turned around, hearing somebody behind him.

"Go back to the room," said the younger, turning away again.

"What are you doing?"

"Protecting everybody."

Taeil wasn't surprised that was the response he earned.

"But you _stabbed_ Jaehyun, that isn't protecting."

"He was trying to stop me from protecting you," said Kun, "I won't let anybody get in my way."

The elder sighed. "What has happened to you? Where is the Kun that we met in high school?"

"He's right here. You just didn't know me well enough. But that's fair, neither did _I_."

"Can you give me the knife?" asked Taeil in a moment of braveness.

Kun turned to face him, and he certainly didn't look amused. He laughed, looking down at the ground. "No, I won't give you the knife."

"Jaehyun might die, Kun."

"No he won't. I made sure it was nowhere vital."

Taeil pressed his lips into a line. He wanted to trust that Kun wouldn't turn around and attack him, looking at the younger in concern. "You don't need to do this. I understand that you feel guilty—"

"Who said I felt guilty? For what? Am I supposed to feel bad for _protecting_ the patients?"

"You're supposed to be a role model for them, you're encouraging violence right now."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," said Kun, "I won't let the police take anybody else."

"I don't know if it's occurred to you, but the police will be after you, too. How do you know the others haven't told them that you're a killer?"

The younger visibly tensed, making Taeil feel more on-edge. "They didn't tell you, why would they tell complete strangers? Ten wouldn't, Taeyong wouldn't. Yuta might, but I'm sure he's too busy thinking about his... what was it? Six murders?"

"Seven," the elder hesitantly replied.

"That's plenty of time in prison for him," said Kun, "or execution."

"Even if they _did_ decide to charge him, he'd be returned to Japan. They'd definitely execute him."

Kun's gaze shot to the door beside him as it opened. Taeil's eyes widened, and he grabbed the younger, pulling him away from the door as a suited man and a group of police officers stood outside. The elder's arms were pushed away rather forcefully by Kun, who still gripped the knife as the man, who they deducted was a detective, stepped in.

"Get your hands up and kneel on the ground," the man ordered, pointing a gun at them both.

Taeil almost immediately, rather sheepishly, obliged, but Kun simply laughed and barely moved an inch.

"Drop the knife or I'll shoot."

The elder watched nervously as his friend simply stared at the officers, an unsettling grin plastered on his face. He didn't know what expect, just as much as the force before them. It was a tense stand-off, just constant staring, before they heard a siren grow near. Taeil gulped, looking at Kun and then to the officers. "There's an ambulance on it's way here."

It was more of a warning for his friend. He could've easily stabbed Jaehyun somewhere vital, but he didn't. He was clinging onto the strand of hope. He hoped Kun hadn't fallen too far, and that he'd be able to get through whatever was going on and return to his old self. But he was beginning to realize the younger was right. He didn't really know the _real_ Kun. Nobody did. He was always quite reserved and didn't share his struggles. That's why Taeil didn't question his odd behavior; he thought he was just in a slump and he'd get over it alone.

He should've asked. He could have shown him that'd he'd be there, instead of assuming it would all pass.

"Somebody is injured?"

"A former patient, Jung Jaehyun. He has a stab wound."

The detective looked at the knife in the other male's hand. The situation was _certainly_ out of hand. He turned around to see the ambulance pull over beside the building, and motioned for them to come over. He just needed to at least move the wielder of the knife away. He assumed he was another patient, who just wasn't on record. It seemed half of them weren't.

"You'll both need to come with us to the station, and anybody else who is hiding out in here," he said, "how many are there?"

Taeil had to think, counting in his head. "Three more. But the two who aren't injured are barely involved. They have nothing to do with anything—"

"We have to question everybody involved. Once we get to the station, I need a full list of everybody who is aware you're living here, or whatever it is that you're doing."

"What have you done with Ten?" asked Kun abruptly, "Where is he?"

Seeing the man's confusion, the caretaker told him that Ten was Chittaphon's nickname, and the detective nodded in understanding.

"He's currently undergoing a physical examination. If you kick the knife towards me, I'll let you visit him."

Kun raised an eyebrow, and scoffed. "I'm not stupid, I know that will be difficult."

"Once he's placed in a center for psychiatric treatment, it will. He still has a day or two in the hospital. If you're restrained, you can see him in a controlled environment," the detective explained.

He didn't seem convinced. Of course not, when his clothes where covered in blood, he was holding a knife and it was obvious he was the one who attacked Jaehyun. He looked over to the door, seeing the hospital staff just _standing_ there.

"Are you going to save him or not?"

"We need you to hand over the knife and let them inside," said the man.

Taeil was almost sure it would take more to convince Kun. He was a careful person. But the knife dropped to the floor with a fairly quiet thud almost immediately, colliding with the cold concrete floor. He kicked the knife, and the detective lowered his gun as he picked it up and gave it to one of the officers. Kun soon knelt on the ground beside the other caretaker, allowing the paramedics to enter.

Of every bizarre occurrence in Taeil's life, being handcuffed in an asylum beside his best-friend turned murderer was not one he'd ever have anticipated. Surprised by the cold metal that was tightened around his wrists, he sighed. He hoped it was all a dream. He hoped he'd wake up and it'd all have been one big nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The asylum has officially been named because just calling it "the asylum", when they aren't even called that now, was starting to get repetitive. Namhyeon is a place in Gwanak-gu, Taeyong's _actual_ hometown.


	38. Bound And Secluded

“Nakamoto Yuta,” said the detective, looking at the cuffed patient sat opposite him. “You've got quite the record.”

He glanced up while the older male looked at a sheet of paper in his hand, flipping it over onto the back as his eyes scanned across all of the information.

“Quite a lot of theft and fighting, even when you were in middle school. _And_ a diagnosis for Antisocial Personality Disorder, which seems to run in the family.”

“Get to the point, you're supposed to be asking me questions, aren't you?” asked Yuta, agitated by the mention of the past.

“That's not how I roll, I like to engage in some conversations first,” said Detective Kim, “you came to Korea when you were five?”

“You already know everything about my background.”

The detective laughed. “You're right. But I want to ease this tension by _talking_ to you, Yuta.”

“You're lucky I can't hit you,” Yuta muttered.

“Your parents were quite the troublemakers too. Do you look up to them?”

“You're a daring person, Mr Detective.”

“I have to be brave in this line of work, I just want to get justice for the missing people—”

“They're dead,” Yuta snapped, “you _know_ they are.”

Detective Kim sat back in his chair and sighed. “Do you have a problem with authority? Is that why you're being so bitter?”

“I don't have the most positive history with cops.”

“Your mother cheated on your father with somebody in the force, didn't she? Once you moved here.”

The patient immediately tensed, and the detective nodded.

“Was it tough?”

“Of course it was,” Yuta sneered.

“It angered your father, naturally. Then, your mother was left with nobody because the police officer found out about her history. She was already an alcoholic, but everything went downhill from there.”

Detective Kim observed the patient carefully, watching as he clenched his fists on the table.

“She abused you, didn't she?” he asked.

Yuta immediately slammed his hand on the table, standing up. The detective jumped, but he'd half expected such a response. He'd dealt with victims turned perpetrators before. The patient let out a strong sigh, clenching his jaw in distaste, before sitting back down.

“Are you glad that she's dead?”

“No,” he replied, “I wish she was alive to go through the endless suffering that she deserves.”

Detective Kim hummed, nodding. “Still, a car bursting into flames was a way to go out with a bang.”

“Now can you ask me about the murders instead?”

“Sure. How many did you kill?”

“I can't remember,” Yuta shrugged. “Maybe five or six.”

“I'll go through each disappearance in order, then. You tell me which ones you did and I'll write it down.”

“Fine.”

The detective looked through his file, turning to another page. “I assume the institution staff that were escorting you to the patient bus were killed by you.”

He nodded, and Detective Kim wrote it down.

“What about Doctor Park?”

“You'll have to be more specific, there were several.”

“He dealt with Lee Taeyong's treatment.”

“That should be obvious,” he said, “Taeyong killed him.”

The detective's eyes widened. “He did? He really did it?”

“He stabbed him probably somewhere near thirty times.”

“I doubted it, I really didn't want to even _consider_ that.”

“It was really bloody,” he chuckled.

Detective Kim was in surprise, but he needed to move on. “What about the builder? He was supposed to do a survey of the roof.”

“That was me.”

“The two police officers?”

Yuta smiled, looking down. “The first one, actually, was a dual effort. Taeyong got scared and attacked him, but we were teaching him to _not_ attack people—well, Jaehyun was—so he didn't kill him. I finished him off.”

“The second one, then?” asked the detective, still writing notes down.  
“That was me, too.”

Detective Kim paused, looking up. “Do you not feel bad?”

“I probably should, shouldn't I? But that won't change _anything_ ,” asked Yuta, “Oh, aside from that it'll help me in court.”

“They have families.”

“Then I did them a favor.”

“I've got to say though, you're incredibly easy to get a confession out of.”

He shrugged. “I've got no life outside of the asylum anyway. And—art should be admired. You'll think about my crimes until you die now.”

“Moving on,” said Detective Kim, “there were three normal people who'd been in the building, one disappeared a while back, but two disappeared recently.”

“I killed the one from a few months ago, and the last one, the woman.”

“Don't tell me Taeyong killed the other one.”

Yuta shook his head. “That's where it gets interesting. You should have met Kun by now. I don't know his surname. He's a psychology student, but he killed that one. It was an accident, but he's changed now, I think he's got a killer's blood.”

**~**

Mark was sat impatiently, bouncing his leg off of the ground in the police station. His nerves were going crazy, both because of the uncertainty of what would happen to Taeyong, and also the knowledge that his parents had been informed and were on their way. However, nobody was aware of his “relationship” with the patient, or that he was involved as deeply as he actually was. In the police car, Taeil told him to play outsider while the detective and the officers were talking.

He heard a familiar voice and the teen looked up from the ground. His parents were walking towards him—unsurprisingly looking furious—and heading right towards him. He held his breath. He knew he was about to be publicly humiliated by their shouting as if being in a police station wasn't embarrassing enough.

“Mark Lee! What did we tell you about visiting _that_ place?” his mother shouted.

He shrunk down in his chair as people began to look his way. He closed his eyes, hoping it would block everything out, but his attempts were in vain.

“We _knew_ you were sneaking around behind our backs, Mark. We weren't born yesterday! But it's dangerous!”

There was a moment of silence while Mark looked down at his legs, clenching his fists on his lap.

“Did they hurt you? Did any of those psychopaths lay even a finger on you—”

“They're not psychos. They're normal people.”

His mother visibly clenched her jaw. “Answer the question.”

“No! Nobody hurt me!” Mark exclaimed. “They wouldn't!”

“All of this time, we've been worried about what you've been getting up to. I've even been in contact with the police because I was _scared_ for you, Mark!”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You told the police?”

“It was for your safety!”

“You've ruined everything! We had _everything_ under control!”

His mother sighed harshly. “You are still a child. You can't just do whatever you like, running around with killers!”

Without a second thought, Mark stood up and walked straight past his parents. His clenched fist was tightly pressed to his side.

“Mark, come back here!” his father shouted.

He turned around, taking in a deep breath. He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, before opening them once again. “I love him, and you've ruined everything for us.”

“Love who, Mark? One of those killers?”

He continued walking away, disappearing around the corner. He had no clue where he was going, or, even why—but he just needed to leave. He slid his back down the wall as he buried his face in his hands. It was overwhelming. He couldn't stop the tears from spilling out of his eyes. That was it; he'd lost him. He'd lost Taeyong.

**~**

“Unluckily for you,” said Detective Kim, “I've not only already heard that you killed somebody, but you're my last interrogation today, so I'm a little bit impatient.”

With an indifferent expression, Kun looked down at the table. It was hardly interesting, he just needed something to look at. The detective was expecting a reply, but since he didn't earn one, he sighed, looking at a sheet of paper.

“Kun, what happened to you? You had almost perfect grades in school, your teachers all loved you, but you had no friends. A king among peasants?”

The lack of sort of response brought a frown to Detective Kim's face. Kun snickered at him.

“So, Chittaphon? He's the one on your good side?”

“I'm practically treating him.”

The detective raised an eyebrow.

“How so? Illegally obtained drugs?”

“It isn't illegal.”

“It _is_ illegal to feign your practice, though. None of you are licensed.”

“Is it wrong to help those in need, detective?” asked Kun, his eyebrows furrowed.

Morally, they were in the right. For most aspects, anyways.

“Any relationships between patients and psychiatrists are malpractice, too.”

“That one, I'll accept. But you should know that I've known Ten since before he moved into Namhyeon.”

The detective nodded. “Fair. But you've still committed several offences. Most of your friends can be cautioned, but you, Qian Kun, will have a case formed against you and will be going to court.”

“I half expected that. But it _was_ an accident.”

“What about the assault?”

“Not an accident, but my judgement is pretty poor these days.”

“You're smart,” said the detective, “what a waste of an intelligent mind.”

**~**

The ticking of a clock mounted on the wall of the scarcely-decorated room was plaguing Taeyong's ears. With the sound of each and every tick, he was growing more and more defenseless. Each second felt like a minute, each minute like an hour. He didn't have much understanding of time anyway, but locked in a small room without any windows whatsoever and his only light source being a blinding tube of artificial sunlight, he was beginning to lose track of night and day.

His hands were still restricted by handcuffs. His wrists were red from the metal digging into his flesh, lying on his side on the hardly comfortable bed in the corner of the room. He lay on top of the covers, his knees tucked up to his chest and his arms stretched outward. Some of the fabric was damp, attacked by some runaway tears only hours earlier. He'd hardly slept, his eyes fixed on the fabric as he sat in a miserably quiet state. He'd never thought he'd miss the other patients. Not even Jaehyun or Yuta. But he was feeling their absence.

He missed Mark more than anybody. He just wanted to hear the younger's laugh again, and cling onto him as though the world was going to end. _His_ world was. The world as he knew it had been stolen from him, and he was thrown into a somewhat unfamiliar world. It was unnerving. Familiarity brought comfort. Change brought fear. That's how it had always been for Taeyong, right from the beginning. But he didn't even have the energy to resist it.

There was a desk against the adjacent wall, on top of it a tray of food remained that had been left for him earlier. He hadn't eaten since the day they were taken from the asylum. He didn't feel like it, he didn't even feel hungry. The only thing he was feeling that he could recognize was loneliness. He hadn't even realized how much he relied on those around him, but now they were gone—and he was alone.  
He'd hardly moved. He didn't see the need to.

He'd been visited on several occasions. The first time, it was a doctor. It was nothing out of the ordinary, he'd had a check-up when he was found in the barn, and it was hardly any different. The only thing he'd really had a problem with, was when the doctor took out a needle. They had to get assistance to hold him still because he didn't _want_ to be prodded and stabbed. He wasn't ill. He didn't know what they injected into him.

They'd done it more than once. It seemed he'd be injected with the mysterious substance every time somebody entered the room, and he was beginning to get used to it.   
But something felt off. He felt more drained than usual, and he could feel his body tremble gently. He didn't know why, but it didn't really alarm him. He assumed it was because he didn't eat.

All day, he'd hear people walking around outside of the room. There was a constant hum of quiet chatter beyond the door, and that, in addition to the clock, was beginning to fade. It was gradually getting quieter, and he was being plunged into an uneasy silence. Until he heard keys clashing on the other side of the door. His eyes averted to the door which opened, and the suited man stepped in. Unlike other times, he didn't close the door behind him, and instead leaned down to Taeyong's level.

“We need to ask you a few more questions. This time, we need to take you to another room.”

He didn't mean to ignore the detective. He was sure he'd nodded, but when he sat up, he immediately fell back down.

“Taeyong? Are you okay?”

His voice sounded abnormal, fading in and out as the patient rolled onto his back. Looking at the light bulb hanging on the ceiling, he clenched his eyes shut in momentary pain. He had to cover his eyes. Detective Kim pulled him up, trying to get his attention, waving his hands in front of his eyes.

“Taeyong?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowed as the patient's head hung down. “I'll get you to a medic, okay? Hang on.”

He held Taeyong up, pulling him to his feet. Even if he tried to get the patient to step forward on his own accord, he was completely unresponsive, his eyes blankly staring at the ground. The detective gritted his teeth.

“Somebody! Call an ambulance!”

He kicked the holding cell's door open, stumbling out, holding Taeyong with all of his strength. He looked around, and his eyes set on Seulgi, who was walking at the other side of the room.

“Seulgi! It's Taeyong!”

She turned around and immediately ran over. “Put him on the ground.”

Detective Kim complied, carefully lowering him to the ground. Taeyong hardly even moved, only turning his head when he reached the ground, his eyes close to shutting.

“Have you given him anything?”

“He's been on regular doses of diazepam to calm him.”

She thought for a moment, muttering the name of the drug. “How often, and how much? How was it given?”

“Every six hours I believe, I'm not sure how much, but it was injected.”

“Every six hours?” he exclaimed, her eyes wide, “You _do_ realize he has a weakened body anyway, right? He shouldn't even be on a tranquilizing drug until they've dealt with his overall health.”

“I'll call an ambulance,” he said, taking out his phone.

Seulgi looked over in the direction she came from, a look of concern as she saw Mark looking over. He wouldn't dare move. She signaled for him to come over, before returning her attention to her brother. She checked his pulse, and he was—obviously—still alive, but his pulse was slow, and as she checked his breathing, she noted how it was weak and shaky.

Mark soon came over, slowly stepping forward. He ignored how his parents were shouting behind him, upon noticing he'd moved from where he was by the staircase. He sat beside Taeyong, carefully grabbing the elder's hand. The patient looked up at him, his eyes weakly open, and reached for the teen with his free hand.

“The most likely explanation for this state is that his dosage was far too frequent and too large for his body,” said Seulgi quietly.

“So an overdose?”

“That _is_ what that means,” she replied, “he's a fighter, he'll recover.”

Mark couldn't help but wonder if he really would, or if that was just Seulgi's attempt at comforting him. He'd explained everything to her. She deserved to know.

The teen ran his hand through Taeyong's hair, and the latter closed his eyes gently, his grip still tight on Mark's other hand.

“I love you, Taeyong,” said the teen, swallowing back tears. “I've came to my conclusion.”

“I want to be with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I was moving house. But we're in now, so here is a new (albeit quite different) chapter! Insights into the past, plenty of drama and a few things to think about.  
> Please let me know what you think!


	39. Cold World

Taeyong _hated_ hospitals. He despised them with a burning passion—the bustling halls, the overwhelming scent of chemicals and, most of all, the obsession the doctors had with restricting his every movement, having him strapped down onto the hospital bed.

Maybe it was out of fear, maybe it was protocol.

He didn't really know, nor did he particularly care. He didn't want to spare a thought about their intentions. He'd been awake for a little over an hour, and was immediately hit with a wave of pain. He squinted, drew a sharp breath and began to pull at the restraints, tugging at the cloth forcing him in place. He was alone. He didn't know what the equipment was all for. The tubing, the clip clinging onto his finger or the bag of liquid hanging not too far from him. He did, however, know what the oxygen mask was for.

He had been conscious when Mark told him that he loved him. He didn't have the energy to react, lying there quietly, but inside, he felt warm, and would have been smiling like an idiot. He thought he was going to die. He wouldn't have fought it, at first. But with the teen beside him, he had hope they'd be together again. He didn't want the world. He just wanted to be with Mark. He was under the impression it was simply too much to ask for, maybe he was supposed to be alone. Maybe he wasn't supposed to be there at all.

The door opened, and Taeyong turned in it's direction. The detective led Taeil inside, and the patient let out a sigh, hoping for Mark to be his visitor. The eldest had a look of surprise on his face, looking at Taeyong's pale and sickly form. His surprise soon turned to pity. He sat down, avoiding the patient's gaze.

"Oh my God," he muttered, cautiously looking up. "I'm so sorry—"

Taeyong's eyes widened, remembering Jaehyun was also in hospital. "What happened to Jaehyun?"

Taeil gulped, sighing. "He's in a coma right now. He's... asleep."

"Long-term sleep?"

"Not permanent, hopefully," said the elder, "but, you—"

"You have to get me out of here," Taeyong practically begged.

"I can't, Taeyong. You need to stay in hospital."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Can't you treat me?"

"I'm flattered that you think I can, but I'm not a doctor. I'm not even a psychiatrist yet, and this situation is damaging my reputation as is."

"So you'll give up on us because of your reputation?"

"This is my future on the line, Taeyong. I'm lucky that they're not taking any legal action against me."

The patient huffed. "They're going to send me back to a ward, aren't they?"

Taeil felt his heart shatter at the disappointed look on the younger's face. But there wasn't only disappointment. A look of fear flashed across Taeyong's face before he looked away.

"You'll be in here for a while, those drugs really attacked your body. You'll need specialized treatment, and maybe they'll send you to ward. It depends on what the doctor decides."

"Then, tell Mark that I heard what he said and that I feel the same way."

The elder frowned. "You're making this harder for me..."

Taeyong sat in silence. He wasn't _trying_ to guilt-trip Taeil, but if he accidentally did in the process, he wouldn't exactly complain.

"Has the hospital triggered any memories?" asked the caretaker.

"No."

"Well, that's good."

It wasn't a lie. He had, however, felt familiarity. He remembered being in hospital, but he'd never been hooked to so many machines at once.

"Alright, fine!" Taeil said suddenly, "You're making me feel bad! I'll talk to the doctor, I'll see if I can get my opinion in."

Taeyong knew he'd give in eventually. He nodded, smiling. 

"Now get some rest. You've been through a lot this past week."

"Can Mark come and see me?"

Taeil hesitated, sighing. "His parents have the right to refuse any visit requests in his place. But I'll see what I can do."

The eldest would admit, he thought his duty as a caretaker was over when he read the article. He had no intentions of giving up. He'd been threatened by his university, saying he'd have to drop out if he kept getting involved. It was, actually, a better outcome than he expected. If he'd have been forced out, It'd be bad for his record. But he had a chance to redeem himself.

It was all irrelevant anyway. Because he _was_ going to keep getting involved. They were his responsibility, after all. He'd never abandon his patients in a professional setting, so why should he abandon the very people who helped him learn what it meant to look after another person's life? 

Johnny was almost immediately admitted to a facility upon being taken in by the police. Taeil had sat with his boyfriend's psychiatrist for over an hour, explaining every small detail of what he'd noticed over the years. He explained how the patient was occasionally treatment noncompliant, and how he could become restless and agitated seemingly out of nowhere. He felt terrible having to hand him over, but it was better for Johnny. Even if he'd promised they'd never be apart.

It was stressful. Yuta and Kun were both under investigation, Taeyong and Jaehyun were both hospitalized, Johnny was undergoing psychiatric care and Ten was being evaluated. Luckily, Yangyang wasn't a cause for concern. His psychiatrist allowed him to be in Hendery's care. Taeil had managed to avert the detective's attention from Xiaojun and Hendery, after all, they never really did much, anyway. On the other hand, he and Sicheng were mostly under pressure from their university. Not that it particularly mattered as he wasn't in the state to continue his degree at all, Kun had been expelled without any second thought from the board. It didn't come as a surprise. 

Taeil sighed as he stepped out of the room, and was met by the detective and the doctor. Police officers were guarding the room, always ready to react if anything happened. He wandered over, clearing his throat from beside the doctor.

"Was he alright?" asked Dr Yoon.

"As alright as one can be after being arrested, drugged and resuscitated in the span of five days."

Taeil didn't intend to sound so malicious, but it was beyond his fathoming how a doctor could allow his patient to overdose. Dr Yoon nodded weakly.

"What are you planning? What's the follow-up? Is he going to be sentenced, or will he be handed off to another sadistic psychiatrist and separated from the people he's grown used to?"

The doctor's mouth opened, but he closed it again, sighing.

"I've seen the records. His psychiatrist had offended before he was placed in his care. That's why the government had no problem leaving them both to die. Unofficial death sentence? Let an abuser and the abused battle to the death? Is that seriously what this country has become?"

"Hey, careful," Detective Kim warned, "you know those were exceptional circumstances."

"It shouldn't have happened at all."

"I completely agree," said the detective.

Dr Yoon nodded. "But, to answer your questions, I think his case will be dropped. Taking everything into account, the only viable crime he's committed is assault. I believe he's got two assault charges?"

"One. The escaped officer doesn't want to press charges. However, the deceased's family have decided to press charges against Taeyong for initiating an attack," said Detective Kim, "like you said, I also believe the case will be dropped. There's no evidence, and none of this would've occurred if he had undergone the correct treatment."

"But, really, you've done quite a lot to help Taeyong," the doctor continued, "I'm no psychiatrist, but I know when somebody is inherently evil. He's just lost—you've directed him down the right path. Now it's time for you to step back an let him make his _own_ decisions. I'm intending in doing what I need to here, and then I'll bring in a behavior specialist to evaluate him."

Taeil sighed. "Okay. Obviously, he's been traumatized by his past psychiatrist. I just don't want his memories to come flooding back the second I'm out of the picture. He careful with him."

"Of course."

**~**

"You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do, Mark Lee."

His attempt to run straight to his room failed. The teen sighed, turning around. His mother led him to the living room and sat down. His father, for once, looked more annoyed that his mother.

"Who was that?" asked Mrs Lee.

Mark carefully sat down. "Taeyong."

"Lee Taeyong?"

His father immediately sighed, standing up to leave the room. He ignored his wife's questions and disappeared beyond the door.

"Why didn't you tell us you were into guys?" asked his mother quietly.

"Because I've only just figured it out myself."

She nodded. "That's not what's annoyed me. You're acting like you can't trust us."

"I knew something bad would happen if I told you about the asylum."

"Because it's dangerous. Not only because it's filled with people, it's seriously unstable. That's why it was relocated," she explained, "but now I have a new concern."

"Taeyong?"

He was unsurprised when she nodded. "Does he love you back?"

"I think," Mark smiled.

"That makes it even _worse._ What if he's a creep? He's a killer, and he's older than you!"

He sighed. "He isn't a creep. He's the most innocent person I've ever met."

"Because he's—" she began, raising her voice, but immediately paused. "He's not normal."

"What even is normal?" he spat, "He lives the best he can for how he was raised."

Mrs Lee raised an eyebrow. "Don't hit me with that 'what is normal' rubbish."

"You're misunderstanding him! I know for a fact he's probably terrified right now."

"He's _probably_ on his death bed, never mind being scared of anything."

Mark fell silent. He gulped, looking away from his mother so she wouldn't see how he attempted to stop himself from bursting into tears.

"You can date anybody else for all I care. But if you're going to throw away your entire life for somebody who's stabbed a man to death, then you can leave this house _right_ now. I don't want a monster in my family."

He certainly never thought he'd be thrown out by his own family. He knew she wanted him to promise to forget about Taeyong and move on. Mark knew his father was probably in another room, likely drinking. Pushing all thoughts aside, he stood up, and his mother's eyes immediately widened. As he walked to the door, he didn't know what to do. He turned, hearing noise from the kitchen, and saw his father stood in the doorway.

"Don't even think about coming back!" he shouted, "Get out of here!"

He could hear his mother crying in the other room as he opened the door. He stood looking out for a moment, hesitating, but when he heard glass shattering behind him, he ran.

He ran without looking back; he had no plan of where to go. 

The door slammed shut. He was out in the bitter Autumn air. 


	40. Burden

Mark couldn't think of anywhere else to go. He stood in front of Doyoung's house, drenched by the—incredibly inconvenient—rain and chilled right through to the bone. He knocked on the door, waiting in anticipation. He didn't want to bother them. Actually, he was considering calling Taeil until he realized he left his phone on the couch. He didn't know where the elder's apartment was. 

The door opened, making the teen jump in surprise. Mrs Kim looked at him, taking one look at him before she pulled him into the house. "What are you doing out in the rain?"

She left him for a moment, calling for her son, and hurried to get a towel. Doyoung walked down the stairs, confused as his mother wrapped a towel around Mark.

"Can you lend Mark some clothes?" she asked, "He'll fall ill if he sits in these."

Groaning, Doyoung ran back upstairs. He wanted to help Mark, obviously, but running up and down the stairs wasn't his forte. 

"What happened?" asked Mrs Kim, "Why aren't you at home?"

He hadn't even noticed how he held his breath, gently trembling under the towel. In fear of breaking down right there, Mark stayed quiet. He knew Doyoung's mother would understand. She was a psychiatric nurse, after all. She'd probably recognize that he wasn't exactly in the mood to talk. Doyoung soon came back downstairs and handed his friend some clothes.

"Go and get out of those clothes, and we can talk when you feel like it. Just leave them over the bath for now."

Mark hurried towards the bathroom. He couldn't help but feel like he should've just slept on the streets for a night or two, or have gone home. But frankly, he didn't feel safe enough to return. He knew his father would have literally thrown him out. As he was changing, he let out a sigh, pushing his wet hair away from his face. He'd never wanted to feel the warmth of Taeyong's hugs so much in the long months they'd known each other. He wanted the elder to comfort him, and tell him he didn't need his parents, but for all he knew, the patient could have been dying in hospital. When he walked out of the bathroom, he looked over to see Doyoung and his mother sat waiting.

He hesitantly walked over. He hated being at the center of everybody's attention. When he sat down, Mrs Kim handed him a hot chocolate. The gesture made him smile, though only slightly.

"Are you ready to talk? I can wait if you'd like."

Mark nodded. Since he turned up at their door, they deserved to at least know why. He couldn't just keep it all to himself when they—mostly Mrs Kim—allowed him into their home without a second of thought. It was a warm home. Mark already knew that. He'd always felt welcome when he was over after school with Doyoung. But this time around, he was feeling rather burdensome.

"I told my parents something... huge. They were already annoyed with me, but it made it worse."

Mrs Kim hummed, nodding. "Is it something you can tell me?"

He looked towards Doyoung, wondering if he should say anything. The elder seemed to understand. "She knows about the guys from Namhyeon."

"But... Taeyong?"

"I didn't go into details."

"Well, I—I told them that I love Taeyong," he said cautiously.

"Oh, I see," she said with wide eyes, "I can understand why they'd be... concerned."

Mark frowned, looking down. He expected her to be disgusted too. The thought crossed his mind that maybe he really was in the wrong, and should run away while he had the chance to.

"But I personally think it's great that you can look past the problems that he's got in his life. You see him as somebody who's lovable, not someone to fear. That's something most people won't consider."

"But... what actually happened?" asked Doyoung.

He was nudged by his mother and furrowed his eyebrows. She shook her head. "At your own pace, Mark. We can wait."

"My mother told me if I wanted to be with him, then I'd have to leave. She doesn't want a 'monster' in her family. But—" he inhaled deeply. "—I know she didn't mean it. But my father..."

He looked to see them both listening carefully. He needed the reassurance. He wanted to know that everything would be okay.

"He told me not to come back, and threw a glass bottle at me as I left."

"Did it hit you?" asked Mrs Kim, "I have a first aid kit—"

"No, it hit the wall."

"Okay, that's good," she said, "that's fine. You can stay here for a while, and we'll see what happens down the line."

He really didn't want to be a burden, but he didn't have much choice. “Thanks.”

**~**

Taeyong peeked through his hardly opened eyelid, taken aback to see people running around his room. He was still restrained, so he couldn't react but instead had to sit there watching. He felt almost disconnected from his body, unable to move freely. He looked around curiously. He recalled feeling the icy air the night before, it somehow felt worse than winter in the asylum. The bitter air was attacking his body, and all he could do was withstand it.

“Is he stable?” asked an unfamiliar man, he was stood in the hallway holding a clipboard under his arm.

The doctor nodded, and Taeyong watched carefully. “He is. His body temperature fluctuated overnight. The drugs are still leaving his system.”

“Don't kill him off before I can step in. I'm preparing to request a reintroduction location—think of it as rehab.”

“You're going to send him out into the world?”

“I'm hoping to send him somewhere easy and somewhat familiar. Get some meat on his bones, make sure he doesn't fall ill and take measures to prevent him from developing hypothermia again,” said the psychiatrist, “I have somebody in the community who is interested in working with him.”

Doctor Yoon seemed concerned. “What kind of work? If you don't mind me asking.”

“Farm work. It doesn't take a genius to work on a farm.”

“But what about his trauma?”

“It will be dealt with simultaneously.”

The doctor seemed to ponder, his gaze shifting over to the patient, who, to him, seemed to be still unconscious. “But what if he _does_ turn dangerous? The only reason he isn't freaking out and attacking everybody is because of the young men who were looking after him.”

“ _And_ the drugs,” the psychiatrist added.

“Yes, those too. But we can't use diazepam with him anymore. It could kill him. It was risky enough when we were ordered to give him morphine for pain relief, and look what _that_ caused. His body mass is far too low for any of our medications.”

“Then we find another way. No drugs, no illegal caring. I'm being pressured by the police because this is a fairly high profile case. We need to make sure civilians feel safe.”

Doctor Yoon shook his head. “What does that mean for Taeyong? He matters less than everybody else?”

“It means we've been given permission to act as we see fit. Even the government has stepped in. If he can be reintroduced to society, that's great.”

“And if he can't?”

The psychiatrist took a deep breath. “Then we either hand him to the prosecution or we—or, rather, you—will be successfully administering a lethal dose of tranquillizer, as requested by a percentage of the public.”

“I won't do it. I'm not going to kill him. He's already been through this once!”

“It's not our choice, Doctor. People are _terrified_ of him.”

“How does that make them any better? They're killing somebody who just wants to live his life. He isn't the monster, they are.”

"As much as I agree with you, he's only one person. He requires far more attention than our other patients, and we just don't have the funding. This world is ruthless, if we were even twenty years in the past, he'd have already died. Somebody would have killed him, or he'd have died in that barn far quicker. His father was going to kill him anyway, the detectives prolonged his life by rescuing him. I'm not giving up on him, I'm trying to do what is best for him."

Letting out a sigh, Doctor Yoon nodded. He understood—of course he did. Taeyong was a first for many practitioners. Severe neglect often resulted in death; but he survived. Nobody knew what to do with him. Expect for one group of people. "What about handing him over to his sister?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm brainstorming the next step for this story. Even if this asylum storyline ends (which, evidently, it kind of is) I do want to continue the story and explore other things. Of course, Jaehyun and Doyoung are yet to become an actual thing, so there's that. Life outside of the asylum is obviously going to be different, and then there's also Yuta and Kun's fates. These are all things which are going to be explored in the near future.
> 
> Also, fun fact: I actually had this story idea in late 2017 when I began writing K-Pop fanfiction, and it was initially a HunHan story XD. I got like 4000 words in and it was poorly written, so I abandoned it. That being said, before this, I had another story which was initially set in an abandoned asylum, but it was fantasy and also sucked.
> 
> Is there anything you'd like to see from this story? Please let me know! Even if you think it'll be difficult to do, I honestly want to know if there's anything you'd like me to write about in this story, or even change/alter.
> 
> I appreciate everybody's comments, even if I don't reply (to which I apologize! Sometimes I honestly don't know what to reply.)


	41. Consulting A Caretaker

Part of Taeil was unsurprised when he received a phone call at almost midnight. He was trying to complete an assignment, sat in his poorly lit room at his desk when his phone began to buzz beside him. He closed his laptop and sighed, sitting back. In a sudden state of panic upon seeing the hospital's number displayed, he pushed back his chair and answered the call immediately, heading over to his shoes. He was expecting bad news.

 _"Is this Moon Taeil?"_ asked an unfamiliar voice on the other side.

"Speaking. Is everything alright?"

There was a pause. _"I'm Taeyong's psychiatrist, Dr Jang."_

Taeil couldn't help but feel dread. He could feel his nerves rising, and sighed.

_"I want to talk to you regarding our next steps for Taeyong's treatment."_

"So, nothing bad has happened?"

_"Actually, on that note, his state did fluctuate overnight according to Doctor Yoon. He's stable now, though. We're waiting for him to wake up, and in the morning he'll be undergoing a few examinations."_

"How so? What happened?"

_"It was dealt with quickly, but his body temperature dropped below the usual because his body is now not responding well to pain medication."_

Taeil was beginning to think the doctors in the hospital were rather incompetent. They'd had no problems with Taeyong's reactions to painkillers in the past.

_"Would you be able to come to the hospital in the morning?"_

"Is this not urgent?"

_"Well, it's going to take a while for him to be discharged from hospital, a few hours won't hurt."_

"Alright. I'll be there for around ten-thirty."

It was strange even for Taeil, not having to go to the asylum every day. He was spending far less money—as he was only feeding himself and the shared-fund was redistributed between the caretakers—and he had more time for himself, which frankly, he appreciated. Even the university staff had commented on how he seemed to have more energy, and his assignments' quality improved. But he felt as though there was a gap in his soul. Something was missing.

He was missing everybody. Even the other caretaker had all drifted, growing further and further apart as the days passed. Everybody had their own lives and paths to take, but he never expected that they wouldn't spend every day with each other at some point. Taeil had _tried_ to talk to Sicheng after one of their lectures, but the latter just snapped at him, saying he didn't want to talk. The elder assumed he was stressed about Yuta—so he accepted it and left.

Xiaojun and Hendery were simply focusing on living their lives while helping Yangyang live his; it was how it had always been. If anything, it would have been alleviating to have more time, like in the past. Then, of course, Kun was spending his days in a holding cell. Taeil didn't want to even consider what would happen to him. While he did something which enraged him beyond comprehension, they _were_ still friends.

Even while the patients weren't in his care, Taeil couldn't stop thinking about each of them. It had kept him up until the early hours of the morning, creating situations in his head to explore how they would play out, or deciding to visit Jaehyun in the hospital in the middle of the night, only to realize visits were prohibited after nine. On a few occasions, he'd made his way to Namhyeon, only to see the building heavily guarded.

He had to move on. But he didn't _want_ to. It was the very last thing he wanted in his life; he'd have preferred to have given up his apartment over the patients. They were more than just that to him—they'd become part of his life. They'd become his _friends_.

**~**

Taeil wandered into the hospital only slightly before he said he would arrive. It was quiet and somewhat eerie. He didn't like the think just how many people had died in places such as hospitals. He wasn't the type to have a fascination with death; that was down to Kun.

If his eyes ever met the glances of others, he'd smile. Wrapped up in his winter coat, he headed over to the front desk, waiting for the young woman on the entrance to look up. When she did, she smiled back at him. He was in the hospital enough—sitting beside Jaehyun as he waited for him to wake up—that the staff had actually gotten quite close to him.

"Who are you here for today?" she asked.

"I'm meeting Taeyong's psychiatrist and will be visiting Jaehyun, too."

She wrote down in the logbook, nodding. "There's currently somebody visiting Taeyong."

He raised an eyebrow, and she scanned through the book.

"A... Mark. Do you know him?"

"Ah, right. He's somebody who was helping us out. How long has he been here?"

"Since nine-thirty."

Taeil had assumed Mark wouldn't be allowed to visit. After all, his parents didn't seem the happiest about his involvement with the asylum and more so the patients.

"I'll head over, I should probably talk to him too."

The young woman chuckled. "Have a good day."

"You too," he smiled, making his way over to the ward both of the patients were on.

Jaehyun's room was first, and though he had planned to head straight over to see Taeyong, Taeil looked up, slowed down as he saw Doyoung stood looking into the room.

"Are you not going inside?" he asked, taking the teen by surprise.

"No..."

"He'd appreciate it," said the elder, "he seemed to enjoy your company."

Doyoung looked down at the ground.

"He'll wake up, just give him time."

"But what if he doesn't? Or, if he has amnesia—"

"You do realize it isn't as common as it seems to be, right? Stories over-dramatize everything."

Doyoung sighed, "it's still possible."

"If he does, then we'll—" Taeil paused, "the hospital will deal with that."

Hearing footsteps, they turned around. There was a man walking towards them. Taeil noted his white coat, assuming it was Dr Jang.

"Moon Taeil?" the man inquired, "Are we alright to talk now?"

He nodded and turned to Doyoung. "Go inside. He'll be wondering if you're leaving him for good."

The teen turned and walked into the room hesitantly, and Taeil smiled in accomplishment. He turned back to the psychiatrist.

"What's your plan?"

"I have two prepositions," said Dr Jang, "I'd like to try both, but since you know a lot about Taeyong, I wanted to consult _you_ , first."

The psychiatrist led Taeil towards a room, just down the hall from where Taeyong's. When they got inside, they both sat down, and Dr Jang took out his files.

"I'm temporarily working in here. They want me to observe him at all hours of the day," he explained, "so I'm not as organized as I'd like to be."

"Has he been okay?"

"He _does_ seem a little stressed, but I'm not surprised. If he was healthy, we could have already transferred him to my institution for the short-term, but he needs to recover from the overdose, the doctor is dealing with his drug intolerance and is trying to bring his overall health up."

"I don't understand _why_ he's intolerant to medication all of a sudden. He was fine while with us."

Dr Jang hummed. "Now, _was_ he fine? Or did you just not recognize that it was harming his body? He's got poor genetics, you should recognize that risk."

"We only used painkillers and incredibly low doses of sedatives."

"That isn't what we're here to discuss. While you were caring for Taeyong, how often was he exposed to unfamiliar people?"

"Not very. We were always unsure if he would react well. But he knows he can't attack people, that's probably why the detective managed to take him out of Namhyeon. That being said, he did bond quite well with one particular person. I think whether his response depends on whether or not he feels threatened."

The psychiatrist nodded. "Who?"

"His current visitor. Mark Lee."

"The teen?"

Taeil nodded, and Dr Jang looked uncertain.

"I'm worried about those two interacting," he said, "their ages unsettle me."

"Oh, believe me, I wasn't the most thrilled when I found out that they were as close as they are."

"According to my records, Taeyong was quite unpredictable in the past."

Taeil furrowed his eyebrows. "You think he could pose a risk to Mark?"

"We have to consider everything."

"He wouldn't," he said, "no way. Taeyong protected Mark on _several_ occasions."

Dr Jang hummed. "What about a stranger? Do you think he'd turn against them?"

"If they did something which he viewed as a threat. But why? You're not thinking of putting him with a stranger, are you?"

The silence on the psychiatrist's behalf made Taeil sigh.

"He won't be in the hospital forever, we have to think about what happens next."

"If you go through with that, you know somebody could end up dead—and it probably won't be your volunteer. Taeyong doesn't have the knowledge and skills he needs to survive out there."

"That's where our stranger steps in," said Dr Jang, "Taeyong would work for him, and in return, he has a place to stay and somebody to feed him."

"That sounds awfully similar to a prison."

The psychiatrist sighed. "The court has accepted this. They think of it as a form of community service."

"So, that's it? You pass your patient to some random person and expect him to thrive?"

"I'm trying to rehabilitate him."

"You can't rehabilitate somebody who has _never_ lived normally."

"Listen," said the psychiatrist, "it's worth a shot. I've been in contact with my volunteer for a while—he understands what he's getting into, and we've agreed to exchange daily updates."

Taeil shook his head. He _hated_ the idea. It put Taeyong into a vulnerable place, where he could easily have been harmed. He had very little said in anything. "What was the other plan?"

"I haven't planned too much, but doctor Yoon suggested considering his remaining family."

"Seulgi?"

He nodded. "That idea wouldn't work-she has to live her life, not give everything up for her younger brother who can't look after himself."

"She works here, that could be an issue, but it sounds better than your absurdly dangerous idea of throwing Taeyong into the arms of somebody who could harm him."

"We're trying our best. We can't lock him in a room for the rest of his life."

Dr Jang contemplated telling Taeil about what could happen if they didn't succeed, but he recognized that it likely wouldn't settle well with him, and decided to stay quiet.

"That'll be all for now. I'll consider your concerns, and will update you as necessary."

Taeil stood up and bowed, before walking to the door. As he stepped out, he sighed. He really didn't want the plan to go ahead. He walked down to Taeyong's guarded room and looked inside to see him smiling as Mark held his hand, even if he was still restrained. The patient was wrapped up in more layers than usual. When he opened the door, the teen looked at him with wide eyes but relaxed once realizing it was only him.

"You were allowed to visit?"

"Something like that," the younger replied.

Taeyong turned back to face Mark after the initial surprise of hearing the door open. The teen looked back down at him, smiling, and Taeil rolled his eyes at their affection—or, an attempt at affection because of their current situations. 

“You've been here a while, will your parents not be worried?”

“Are you _trying_ to get me to leave?”

“It's not that,” the eldest sighed. “I need to talk to Taeyong.”

Mark nodded gently. “I guess I should finish some things for school.”

“Can you come back tomorrow?” asked Taeyong, looking hopeful.

“I'll try, but it'll be later in the day.”

That was enough to satisfy the patient. He believed in the younger, he wouldn't lie to him.

When the teen stood up and made his way to the door, Taeil took a deep breath. He was anticipating a freak out on the patient's behalf. Once he was certain Mark was down the hallway, the eldest closed the door, turning back around.

“You're acting weird,” Taeyong commented.

Taeil sighed. “The psychiatrist wants to send you to work for somebody.”

“Work?”

“I think it's risky. How does a doctor—an excessively schooled person—‘accidentally’ overdose their patient?”

The younger tilted his head, as he couldn't do much else, and furrowed his eyebrows. “You think it was on purpose?”

“Potentially. They then gave you _more_ medicine which you responded badly too. Or, that's what they seem to think. They've set it up so you can't receive any emergency treatment that requires any drugs.”

Taeyong was silent. He didn't exactly know what Taeil meant but did recognize that somebody was probably trying to kill him. He looked around the room, scanning it frantically.

“That saves money for them, and then, it makes it more likely that you'll—”

The elder looked at Taeyong as the latter pulled at the restraints keeping him in place. He quickly hurried closer, placing his hand down on his arm.

“You can't make it obvious that you know. I'll... I'll deal with this, okay?”

“I can't stay here! I have to leave! Let me out!”

“Don't shout.”

“Or what? Are you going to beat me?”

The elder's eyes softened, and he let out a gentle sigh. “No, of course not.”

“If you leave me in here, they'll kill me!”

“Taeyong,” said Taeil, sternly.

When the elder moved abruptly, Taeyong jumped. Taeil felt a piece of him shatter. He'd never seen the patient act like that before.

“I'll figure something out, just wait a little longer.”


	42. Survival Instinct

Taeyong had spent most of his day pulling at the restraints. He'd loosened one significantly from all of the moving and tugging. He pulled his hand, trying to get it out from the fabric. He was beginning to get frustrated. Being careful wasn't exactly his favorite method of doing _anything._

He lifted up his arm abruptly, using all of his muscle strength to pull at the restraint. He heard the fabric tearing, and, drained from his long day of efforts, gave one last tug. The fabric's threads finally snapped, and the patient sighed in relief. He heard the door open and lay still, his eyes hardly open. Through his slightly parted eyelids, he could see a nurse walk in. She held a syringe in one hand, and a small liquid container in her other hand.

Taeyong was contemplating his options, trying to—as slyly as he could—get his other hand loose. His luck didn't go that far. With only one arm free, he waited as she leaned close to him, filling the syringe. The patient could feel his heart racing. He didn't trust her. Not one bit.

She turned his arm, somehow _not_ realizing he'd gotten free, and prepared to inject him. But before she could, he grabbed her arm. He took her by surprise, sitting up. He was merely dragging himself over to her as she dropped the syringe and dropped herself onto the floor in surprise. Taeyong grabbed the syringe himself, holding his finger over his lips as she quite visibly began to panic.

“Don't make a sound, and nobody gets hurt.”

He felt his other arm coming loose—surprised at how light hospital beds were as he managed to drag it towards the nurse—and pulled further. His hand slipped out of the fabric from the pulling and he shot forward, wrapping his hand around the nurse's neck. He pulled every piece of hospital equipment attached to him away, starting with his oxygen mask and the tabs they'd stuck onto his body. He couldn't risk getting caught. He had to silence the nurse. She tried to pull his hand away, small, yet muffled, gasps for air managing to slip through. He simply stared at her; a cold and unwavering gaze.

He hadn't even _considered_ killing anybody in a long time.

Taeyong's heart was still racing within his chest. He couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what he was feeling, but if he had to make a connection, he'd note how it was similar to what he'd felt when he was stabbing the doctor.

He was surprised, albeit relieved when the nurse's struggling hand dropped to the ground. He almost refused to let go, tightening his grip. Eventually, he lost interest. He shuffled back, looking down at the red marks covering his wrists. They burned. Small grazes had coated his skin from the struggle. He slipped the syringe back into her hand, unsure of what to do with it, and stood up. He walked over to the window, cautiously looking for anybody approaching the door, and tried to open the window. It was locked.

He looked back over to the nurse, making his way over, and looked in her pockets for some keys. He was expecting that she would carry at least one set. She had visited him on several occasions, and, though he didn't know how hospitals worked, he did assume she was specifically working on at least the row of rooms he was in.

He soon found a set of keys—around five or six in quantity—and tried to match up the key with the window's lock. Kneeling behind the bed and looking carefully, he tried two keys which looked like the correct one, and on the second, he heard the lock click. He threw the keys aside and tried the window again.

He paused, hearing a noise behind him, and turned around. The nurse was still there, but he furrowed his eyebrows, walking back over to her.

“You're not dead, are you?” he asked, “Are you playing dead?”

He was fascinated. Somebody could survive even that. He crouched in front of her, looking closely.

“I don't _want_ to kill you, but you're going to get in my way.”

He sighed through his parted lips and smiled. He wasn't lying, but there was just something thrilling about getting his revenge. It made him feel _alive_. He was too busy observing her expression to notice how she lifted up her hand, but before he knew it, there was a needle stabbed into his neck. He fell back, holding his neck as she stumbled to the door.

Hurrying to the window, Taeyong pulled the needle out of his neck but noted how the syringe was empty. He opened the window, struggling to push it open completely as the door behind him opened and people hurried in. His adrenaline was surging. Almost falling out of the window, Taeyong jumped up onto the windowsill as somebody grabbed onto his hospital clothing. He still managed to jump out—being on the first floor—and landed on the concrete outside.

He drew a sharp breath, running as he heard shouting from behind him. He hadn't even noticed how some of his buttons had come undone, even with the cold air battling against his thin stature.

He rubbed his eyes, his vision going blurry as he ran into a woods beside the hospital. He didn't spare a glance back, eagerly running through trees. His bare feet painfully collided with the branches on the ground, but that was the least of his worries. Taeyong could hardly see, everything seemed to be moving around in an abnormal manner. His neck felt numb, a familiar feeling that he was certain he'd felt before.

**~**

Mark sighed, sitting down beside Doyoung. Lucas and Jungwoo sat opposite them, paying more attention to each other than their friends, talking quietly. He just wanted to see Taeyong again, but the hellish and inconvenient school was getting in the way. Despite his original intentions of actually doing his homework the night before, Mark didn't, as he was too busy worrying about the patient.

"What's with the dull faces?" asked Lucas, "Everything will work out in the end."

Doyoung looked up from his food, turning to face Mark. The younger scowled.

“How will it work out? Me not seeing Taeyong ever again?” he snapped.

“I didn't even imply that,” Lucas sighed.

“You _hate_ him. You hate all of them. Don't even think about trying to comfort us when you're one of the people who were against them!”

The other three sat surprised. Mark hardly _ever_ shouted at anyone. Doyoung reached out for him as he stood up, but his hand was hit away.

“I don't want to hear any of it.”

“Mark—”

“Just leave him for a while, he'll be back,” Lucas sighed.

Jungwoo shook his head at him. “You shouldn't have said anything.”

“I was trying to be _nice_.”

“Well don't,” said Doyoung, “he's right. You've never said _anything_ positive about them. Don't start now just to look like a good friend.”

Mark walked out into the hallway, ignoring how people looked at him and walked towards the yard. He had his eyes fixed on the ground. He wasn't in the mood to see people's judging looks. He was already having a terrible week, even if it was only Monday. Everything was piling up. The school was the last thing he cared about, and he didn't need any fake concern, either.

He soon got outside and stood looking up at the sky. He just wanted to leave, run away to somewhere quiet and peaceful. He knew it wasn't possible. He didn't want to leave Taeyong. But to leave all of his problems behind, he assumed, would be the best choice of his life.

Still hardly paying much attention to his surroundings, Mark turned sharply around a corner. He felt his shoulder collide with somebody and turned around, but seeing Myungdae looking back at him, he sighed and simply continued walking. But the other wasn't taking that, at all.

“What do you think you're doing?” Myungdae spat, grabbing Mark.

“Walking.”

“Not on my watch you're not.”

Receiving a punch to the stomach, Mark fell back, but he stayed standing up. He coughed and looked up, glaring back at the bully. People were staring in their direction. Mark stood up straight, sighing.

“Fine,” he said, “if you want to fight, I'll fight.”

Myungdae raised an eyebrow, laughing. “You?”

He _really_ wasn't in the mood to be pushed around. Mark immediately punched the other in the face, taking everyone by surprise, and kicked him back.

“Yes, me.”

Myungdae sneered, stepping forward, but stepped back as Mark threw another punch, putting his arms up in defense. He thrust his knee into the latter's stomach, pushing him back. More people were beginning to swarm. Mark wasted no time, punching the bully again, but right after, a fist slammed into his face. He could feel blood trickling down his face but ignored it, taking a deep breath as he grabbed Myungdae and pushed him into the wall.

People were shouting as Mark punched him twice, but, being pulled away by another student, the teen cursed at them.

“Let go!”

“Look what's gotten into Markie since he started playing with loonies,” said Myungdae, wiping blood from his face. “How many people have you killed?”

His comment backfired, as the student's holding Mark back instantly let go of him, stepping back.

“Shut up!” Mark shouted, punching him again.

“Mark!” Jungwoo shouted from behind people, and he looked over to see his friends looking back at him.

Behind them, teachers rushed out, and his eyes widened. Mark took one look back at Myungdae's alarmed and bloody face, before he ran through the crowd, heading towards the fence.

“Mark Lee! Get back here!”

All he could do was curse at himself, climbing up the fence. He should have just walked away. But he didn't—he decided to fight. _He_ caused the bloody mess that was in front of him.

He jumped from the top of the fence, running away from the school. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, closing his eyes to stop any tears from escaping his eyes. He was sure Doyoung would probably kick him out after that.

He ran in a random direction, but, subconsciously, he was running toward the hospital. He knew he couldn't go inside looking like that, so instead, he ran straight past. He was running alongside the woodland when he heard a shout. A voice he could recognize from _anywhere._ He suddenly stopped running, turned around and his eyes widened seeing Taeyong sat against a tree, his arm holding his neck.

“What are you doing out here?”

“I escaped,” he said, but stood up, hurrying to Mark.

He looked at the younger's face and his eyes softened. He wiped some of the blood from his face with his sleeve gently, carefully avoiding any external wounds.

“What happened?” asked Taeyong.

“Just one of those bullies I told you about,” he replied, “but I beat him.”

The elder smiled. “You did?”

“What will you do now?”

“I don't know.”

Mark thought for a second and pulled Taeyong's arm away from his face. Once the elder put his arms down, the teen took his hands into his grasp. “Should we run away together?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun... Does anybody have any ideas about what will happen next? Or any opinions? Don't be shy to comment :) I'll even take criticism if you have any.


	43. On The Run

When Mark paused, standing outside of a house, Taeyong turned around. The younger took a deep breath, his hand tightening in the patient's grasp. "This is my parents' house."

The elder immediately scowled at the building, his tension growing. The teen had told him they'd be out, and Taeyong hoped with every inch of his being, that he was right. He didn't know if he'd be able to hold back from attacking them at first sight after what he'd heard.

"The key should be under the plant pot. I doubt my mother will have moved it. We can go in, I'll get some money, food and whatever else we will need. You also need to get into some less... incriminating clothes."

Taeyong nodded, following Mark through the gate. He _was_ still wearing his hospital clothes, after all. The elder stood—somewhat nervously—waiting as the teen confirmed the key was indeed under the plant pot. He took it from underneath and unlocked the door, cautiously opening it. Upon being certain nobody was hiding behind the door, Mark let the patient inside. The latter looked around, looking at the photos on the wall as the younger hurried into another room.

"It's still here," said Mark in relief, walking back through with his phone in hand.

"Do you think they will miss you?"

The teen paused at the question, turning to walk towards the kitchen. "Probably not. But that doesn't matter—I won't miss them."

"You're right to not miss them," Taeyong nodded. "I wouldn't have missed them if they were my parents."

"What about your mother? If she was still here."

"I'd ask her to come with us."

Mark smiled, nodding. He turned the kitchen light on and began to look through the cupboards. Taeyong stood behind him, looking around the room as the younger opened a container and took out a stack of money. The patient furrowed his eyebrows. 

"They just have money lying around?"

"It's for an emergency," the teen explained, "they're quite organized."

He stuffed the money in his pocket and took out a plastic bag, before stuffing any random items of food into it. He soon stood back up, heading back out of the kitchen. Taeyong huffed. He didn't know why he felt so worn out. His blurred vision had long since cleared but was replaced by an ache in his head which he couldn't seem to get rid of.

"It's temporary, but you'll have to wear some of my clothes."

"That's fine by me," the elder replied, "I've always worn whatever people threw at me."

Walking up the stairs, the elder grabbed onto the handrail to pull himself up. Mark hadn't noticed, being too eager to get out of the house as quickly as possible. Taeyong took a deep breath and continued following the younger up the stairs, pushing back his feelings of tiredness. He walked into a room and immediately tipped all of the contents of his backpack onto the bed, putting the food inside instead and turning to his clothes cupboard. Rummaging through, he threw some things onto the bed, before passing Taeyong some clothes.

"Get changed in here, I'll go into the bathroom," said the teen.

The elder nodded. He looked around the room as he changed. He was always quite observant of his surroundings. If there was one thing he learnt from looking around Mark's room, it was that he wasn't the tidiest person ever. But he didn't mind, after living among dust and filth for so long, he'd grown used to disorder. Once he was ready, he stood waiting. Mark soon knocked on the door quietly, and Taeyong opened it.

"Good, you're ready."

He looked back in his cupboard and took out a hoodie, passing it to the elder, before he handed him some shoes to wear since he _obviously_ didn't have his own. The teen chuckled as the patient struggled to put the hoodie on, getting his head caught in the arm, and helped him put it on properly. Their enjoyment was cut short, however, as they heard the door open downstairs. Mark grabbed his bag and threw it under the bed, grabbing Taeyong's arm in the process. He pulled the elder into the cupboard, crouching down inside as he closed the door quietly. He completely forgot about the patient's hospital clothes folded on the bed and cursed as he heard somebody walk up the stairs.

"If the door is open, who else could it be?" he heard his father ask, nearing closer, "I swear to God if I see that boy I'm going to give him a good talking to."

They heard the door open, and Taeyong clung onto Mark's arm. He was feeling just as—if not more—nervous than the latter. The feeling of deja-vu was eating away at him.

"Look at that," his mother said, "he brought that killer here."

"That scum is tainting him. He never would have gotten into a fight before he went to that damned asylum! Never mind talking, I'm going to kill both of them if I see them. Filthy little—"

Mark's mother cleared her throat. "We've talked about this."

"No son of mine is going around sleeping with other men."

"That isn't your choice."

"Then he isn't our son."

The teen sighed quietly, but he felt Taeyong grab his hand and smile at him which instantly made him feel better.

"Let's just go and look for him, they can't be far," said Mrs Lee.

They heard them walk back down the stairs, and both of them relaxed. When the front door slammed shut, Mark pushed open the cupboard door and stepped out. "Let's just get out of here."

Nodding, Taeyong stepped aside as the younger continued to cram things into his bag. He slipped the house key into the front pocket and looked around the room.

"This is just for while we're on the bus," said Mark, handing the elder some sunglasses and a mask.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because your face is all over the local newspaper. Put it on until we get out of town, and then you should be fine."

Taeyong hesitantly put them on, looking down at his hands with the sunglasses on. The teen laughed at him, but grabbed his hand and began to drag him down the stairs. Reaching the door, Mark didn't even check for anybody—he just closed the door behind them and ran. Running hand-in-hand with Taeyong down the street, he felt almost invincible. They could do whatever they wanted if they were out of the way of the controlling public.

The patient smiled under the mask, though tired, running beside Mark. He trusted the younger to take him somewhere they _could_ live without anybody on their trail. Somewhere that they were free.

Feeling his phone ring in his grasp, the teen slowed down. Taeyong was relieved. As he checked, seeing missed calls and messages from Taeil, he just knew that the word had already gotten out about at least the patient's disappearance. He turned his phone off without a second thought. Mark turned around, seeing the elder struggle to regain his breath.

"Are you alright?"

"Can we... not run?" asked Taeyong, leaning over.

"You're still recovering," the teen muttered, realizing. "If you're too tired, just tell me. If anything feels wrong at all, tell me."

The elder nodded, and they continued to walk. They soon stood opposite the asylum—where the nearest bus stop also happened to be—and the patient let out a sigh.

Mark was looking at the route board, deciding where to go. He thought their best way to survive alone was to gradually get further from the area, staying in hotels or wherever would take them. He'd have to figure out an income, too.

"Should we just go anywhere? Wherever the bus takes us?" asked the younger.

"If that's what you want."

Mark nodded, looking out for a bus. Sure, he was nervous about leaving, but really, they had no other choice. They couldn't be together any other way. Hearing a running engine growing closer, he reached out for Taeyong's arm as the elder looked around curiously. When the bus came to a stop, they got on, and as the teen paid for a ticket, the patient looked at the people inside. Too preoccupied with observing his surroundings, Taeyong had to be nudged by Mark to walk over to a seat. He hesitantly sat down and the teen could immediately realize how tense he looked.

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?"

The elder nodded. "I've never been on a bus before."

"It's nothing scary, just follow me and you'll be fine. Don't wander away."

"I'm not a child."

"I know you will lose sight of me at least once," said Mark.

Taeyong shrugged, looking out of the window as trees and buildings passed by his gaze.

“I never imagined I'd be out here with you, running away from everything.”

The teen shifted his gaze as the elder talked, turning to face him.

“I think it's better off this way. I don't need anybody else—you're the only person I need.”

Mark smiled. “And you're the only person _I_ need.”

**~**

After a while of staring out of the window as Taeyong fell asleep on Mark's shoulder, the bus finally reached its final stop. The latter woke the elder up, lead him from the bus and wandered up and down the busy streets.

“The first plan of action,” said Mark, “let's find somewhere to stay for tonight. After that, we get some food, do whatever you'd like and then we can sleep, ready to move on tomorrow.”

“Why don't we continue travelling overnight?”

“Because you were in the hospital literally a few hours ago. Your body is still weak, we need to take it slow.”

Taeyong pouted. “It isn't even late!”

“But we don't know where will take us. You'll have to do the talking, you're old enough to book us a place.”

“Me?”

When Mark nodded, the patient sighed. He was really thrown in headfirst. But at least he was with the teen.

“You'll have to tell me what to say.”

“Of course I will. We can't be wandering around all day looking for somewhere.”

Taeyong was sure he was getting increasingly more tired. It wasn't too surprising, though, as he had run quite far after doing nothing for so long. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand—as his other was in Mark's grasp—and continued walking.

“The money won't last forever, will it? What will we do?”

“Leave it to me,” said the teen, “you just focus on yourself.”

It would be far harder for him than the younger seemed to realize.

“But I'm curious how you managed to escape.”

Taeyong grinned. “I stole some keys and jumped out of the window.”

“But _how_? I doubt it's easy to just steal keys.”

“A nurse came in. She wanted to inject me with something, but I didn't trust her,” he began, “so I was strangling her for a while, but it didn't kill her. She ran out of the room after stabbing me in the neck.”

“But you were supposed to be restrained—”

“They were quite easy to break after some pulling.”

Mark sighed. “I'm not happy that you attacked the nurse. I'm actually quite disappointed, but I'm glad you got out.”

“It was the only way.”

“Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, right?”

**~**

Taeil ran into the police station with Seulgi beside him. They'd both been called saying there was a change in the situation, and immediately knew something had gone wrong. The former was half expecting that one of the patients had died. Given that Seulgi was also summoned, he had a good idea of who.

They ran threw the building, before eyes set on Detective Kim. They both hurried over to him as the detective paced up and down. He noticed their presence and signalled for them to follow him. Soon in what seemed to be an office, Taeil shut the door.

“What's happened?”

“Taeyong has escaped from the hospital with an unknown substance in his body,” he spoke hesitantly.

Seulgi's eyes widened. “Unknown?”

“There was improper administration and the nurse who gave him it shouldn't have even been allowed near him due to personal involvement.”

“How was she involved with Taeyong?”

“She is the daughter of the psychiatrist that he killed,” said Detective Kim, “but she didn't leave unharmed. He tried to kill her. She told us that he left knowing she was alive, though. She is refusing to tell us what she gave him.”

“So she potentially was trying to kill him?”

Seulgi sighed. “How can so much happen to one patient?”

“That isn't all.”

“What else could _possibly_ go wrong now?”

“Mark Lee has also been reported missing by his teachers after getting into a fight on school grounds. We've been contacted by his parents who have told us they both visited their house. They are together, and it's safe to say that they are no longer in this area.”

“Can't you open a search?” asked Seulgi.

“I can,” he began, “but I'm concerned this won't be the end of it. I'm unsure of _who_ we can trust.”

“You've just realized?” Taeil scoffed, “I knew something was going to happen, I should've just run away with him and the others. There's no place for any of us here, and that's been made _very_ clear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another fun fact (plus a recommendation if you like this story).  
> There's a K-Drama Special series called White Christmas (it's only _set_ in Christmas). Which explores the concept of nature or nurture in regards to killers, like the whole "born killers" thing associated with Yuta's character. This story was actually inspired by that drama. So yeah, if you aren't too squeamish to blood and you're interested, check it out. To keep in mind that there are potentially triggering scenes in it, though. (Special shout out to Choi Chihoon, one of the characters because he's epic.)


	44. Against The World

After tricking an innkeeper into believing they were brothers heading to see their sick parents—because Mark wasn't sure if anything less would be believable—they finally found somewhere to stay. The teen opened the door for Taeyong, allowing the elder to step inside of the room and followed him in. Mark almost immediately launched himself onto the bed, watching as Taeyong scanned the room.

"We're safe here, you don't need to be on edge."

The patient hesitantly sat down beside the younger, looking down at his legs nervously.

"I'm being serious," said the latter, "I won't let anybody hurt you."

"I'm normally the one protecting you," Taeyong chuckled.

"You just need to relax. Can I trust you to stay in here if I need to leave? Later, not now."

"Where will you go?"

"To get us some food. We can't eat junk. You need to heal properly."

The elder sighed. "There's nothing to heal."

"Your doctor is an idiot and made you overdose, and it hasn't been long since you developed hypothermia _because_ of the overdose."

"If it makes you feel better, I will rest. But this isn't that big of a deal."

Mark stood up. "Good. Now, sleep for a while before we eat."

"Where are you going _now_?"

"To clean the blood off of my face."

The elder watched as the teen made his way to the small bathroom and slipped himself under the cover. He kept his eyes on the door, waiting for him to come back. He heard the tap running and pulled the covers up, hugging them close to his body. Mark soon came back and lay beside the elder, prompting him to turn around.

"Are you feeling alright?" asked the teen.

Taeyong didn't really want to stress him out, but he'd certainly felt far better. "Of course, I'm strong."

"You are."

Mark put his arms out, allowing the patient to shuffle forward. The elder smiled, wrapped up in the teen's arms, he buried his face in the younger's chest. Mark sighed in relief. He could finally hold Taeyong properly, without any restraint. Mark closed his eyes in contentment, running his fingers through the back of Taeyong's hair.

The elder could have fallen asleep right there, engulfed in Mark's warm grasp, feeling the beating of his heart against his chest. The calming scent and the stroking of his hair—it was all perfect. He practically melted into the younger's arms. To describe him as happy would have been an understatement. He smiled against Mark's body, the latter tightening his grip around him.

The teen sighed as his phone began to buzz behind him. He reached for it, rolling his eyes when he saw Taeil's number on display. He turned it completely on silent and pushed it away once again. Gently kissing Taeyong's forehead, Mark couldn't help but notice that the former was quite cold. He tugged his hood up, taking the patient by surprise, but he closed his eyes once again, resting his head against the younger's chest.

"I love you," Taeyong said abruptly, making the younger grin.

"I love you too."

The patient chuckled. “I didn't think you'd say it back.”

“Why wouldn't I? I have already told you that I want to be with you.”

“But you don't seem like the type.”

“Well, anyway, about me wanting to be with you,” Mark began, quite awkwardly, “do you want to be together?”

Taeyong smiled, looking up. “Of course.”

“Then, it's settled. Let's ignore everybody's opinions,” said the teen, before he kissed the elder gently on the lips.

“Will we be together forever?”

Mark wrapped his arms around the elder once again. “Even longer, if possible.”

**~**

Taeil sat in Jaehyun's hospital room, his eyes fixated on the ground as he heard the soft beeping of the machines. He gently sighed. There was far too much going on, and it was beginning to take a toll on everyone. Yuta's court date was set, and even with his attorney being certain that he could secure a lower sentence, Taeil was nervous. Sicheng was even more worried than before, constantly panicking about what would happen and even hadn't turned up to university on several occasions.

"You'd be glad you can't really do much right now," said Taeil, "I know you can hear me."

He turned to Jaehyun's still body, a frown fixed on his face.

"Taeyong and Mark have done a runner. I have no idea where they are. Mark's ignoring my calls," he continued, "I'm not sure if Taeyong's body can handle much more. I think this could be it for him. The next time you see him, he could be gone. I wish we could all just turn back to one of the days where we all sat around in Namhyeon doing nothing and instead ran away all of us together."

The caretaker chuckled. "Maybe we should have moved to another country. Or even found a deserted island to live on."

"Then again, I'm sure Ten would hate that. He's not really the outdoor type."

Taeil didn't know why, but talking to Jaehyun, even when the latter was unresponsive, was quite calming.

"Actually, scrap that. We'd probably all be eaten alive by snakes if we lived on a desert island. Maybe Taeyong would survive, though. He could probably join a herd of wild goats or something and live off leaves and berries. But he'd probably try to pet one of the snakes—"

He came to a sudden realization and took out his phone. Searching for the detective's number, he let out a sigh. Almost immediately, the phone was picked up at the other end.

_"Hello—"_

"Forest!" Taeil practically shouted, "Look in any large forest around here."

" _Why a forest?"_

"Taeyong wanted to go outside. He had an agreement with Mark that they'd go to a forest together."

_"You do realize just how many woodland parks there are within a few kilometres radius of here, right?"_

"It's our only lead. We can't just wait for them to turn up somewhere. Taeyong potentially needs urgent care!"

_"We have camera footage of them getting on a bus."_

"Where?"

There was a sigh. _"Opposite Namhyeon. Security didn't recognize them. They're anywhere along that bus' route."_

"Send me the route, I'll go and look. It's better if I reach them first."

_"Can I trust you?"_

"I'm not who you need to worry about."

_"No, I mean, can I trust you to not disappear without a trace?"_

"I am leaving people behind, why would I just disappear?"

**~**

“Taeyong,” Mark said softly, shaking the elder.

The patient shuffled, turning to face the teen who was stood beside the bed. Mark chuckled seeing Taeyong's messy, soft hair. He'd had to convince him the night before to get a bath, just for the sake of _not_ looking like he'd just escaped from the hospital. He knew it wouldn't be blatantly obvious, but they couldn't look out of the ordinary. It was already an eyebrow-raising factor that an adult and a teenager were running around in different parts of the city, especially with the intention of moving further and further away by the day.

Taeyong's refused to open his eyes, but he reached out for Mark's arm and tugged on it. “Just a bit longer.”

“As much as I'd love to sit in bed with you all day and do absolutely nothing, the police will be on our backs by now.”

The lack of reaction on the other end made the teen sigh. He kneeled down on the ground, getting to the elder's level and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

“Come on, we'll be separated if we're caught.”

Mark saw Taeyong grin as he pushed his hair back, but aside from that, there was very little movement from him. He watched as the latter's chest was gently rising and falling, and put his hand on his forehead to check if he'd gotten any warmer.

“You were like ice yesterday, but now you feel like your temperature has shot right up.”

“Maybe it's because your love warmed me up.”

The younger cringed, rolling his eyes. “Who taught you things like that?”

“Jaehyun,” the patient replied, and it didn't surprise Mark in the slightest.

“You still need to get up, stop distracting me!”

Taeyong giggled to himself, moving his grasp from the teen's arm to his hand, intertwining their fingers. “A few minutes won't hurt.”

“Fine,” the younger sighed, stroking the patient's face with his free hand.

Taeyong smiled as Mark kissed him, shuffling closer to the end of the bed so they could be closer. He kissed back, his heart racing as he felt the younger's hand hold onto his head firmly. Soon, he slipped his hand down to his shoulder. Mark pulled away with the only intentions of regaining his breath, but just as he was about to kiss the elder again, there was a knock on the door.

He felt as though his heart stopped. He moved back, his panic growing. Surely they couldn't have found them already.

“Excuse me?” asked the innkeeper on the other side, “It's almost time to check out, I was just making sure you're awake so you don't run overtime.”

Mark sighed, somewhat relieved. “We'll be down soon, we're awake.”

He turned to Taeyong who looked at him before he let out a small laugh. The teen furrowed his eyebrows, looking back at the elder.

“Your expression—”

“It isn't funny, I thought they'd hunted us down already,” he said quietly.

The patient nodded. “But your panic face is cute.”

“Go on, now you can get up. We need to get out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update because I love writing this story so much.


	45. Manhunt

Pulling himself along with his bag on his back, Mark looked back, making sure Taeyong was still with him. The elder looked warn out, panting as he tried to keep up. The teen slowed down, waiting for the elder to catch up.

"Should we have a rest?"

They'd already gotten on one bus, but Mark suggested taking two routes in a day, and the bus station happened to be quite far away.

"I'm okay."

"No, you're not," he sighed, "don't lie to me."

Mark pulled the elder away from the path, moving to a quieter place. He didn't want to take any risks, so stood beside Taeyong as the latter sat down. The patient leaned against the wall, closing his eyes as he rested his head on it.

The teen looked in concern with a softened gaze. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"

"No."

"Taeyong, you don't need to _act_ like you're alright."

"I'm fine," he insisted, "seriously."

"I'm worried about you, acting tough isn't going to help anybody."

The elder sighed. "Alright, I get it."

"Do you, really?"

"Can we just drop this for now? I'd rather get as far from the city as possible."

"That wasn't the case this morning."

"I was tired," Taeyong replied, "I wanted to just sit with you beside me for a while."

Mark thought, kneeling on the ground. "If we take one more bus, find somewhere to stay and settle, I have an idea."

"What idea?"

"It's a surprise."

"Alright, let's go," he huffed.

He stood up and Mark looked up at him as he hurried to start walking. The latter laughed, following him. They both ignored the crowds, making their way through the city. The teen had a slight idea of where to go—as he'd asked a local on the way—and was trying to recall their directions. He hadn't thought of finding a bus station in a city would be so difficult. The local told him it's better to go to the station, rather than any of the stops, as it was cheaper. They _did_ need to save money, so Mark agreed.

But the problem was, being from the outskirts of the city, he had very little clue how to travel in the bustle of Gwanak-gu and get into another district without getting lost in the process. But they had no specific goal, so plans could change if they did go off-trail.

Taeyong latched onto the younger's hand at some point through the journey through the city, looking around as people hurried past. Mark was sure people would stare, but he didn't really care, for the most part.

Walking past a few stores, the teen's eyes soon averted to the newspaper stand outside of one of the stores. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, but soon, he paused, and his eyes widened. Taeyong looked back, confused as to why they had stopped, and suddenly, Mark dragged him away, running out of the public eye. They ran into an alleyway, and when the patient began to talk, the younger covered his mouth.

"We're in the news."

Taeyong just looked back at him, blinking slowly.

"This is bad, our photos are in the newspaper!"

"Everybody already knows what I look like," the elder noted.

"Yeah, but now there's both of us who could be recognized!"

"Then, we just need to be careful, don't we? We can hide our faces—"

Mark sighed, shaking his head. "We might get asked to show them, we need to keep out of the way and stay low-key. The further into Seoul we get, the more likely we are to get caught by somebody."

"Then why don't we go _out_ of Seoul."

"We have to. We can get a bus straight back through Gwanak-gu, and out the other side."

"Do you have a map?"

"Do I _look_ that prepared?" said the younger, "I think we'll have to head to Gwacheon from here."

"Well, we won't get anywhere stood in a creepy back road. Let's just go."

**~**

"What do you mean the whole city thinks there's a killer on the loose?" Taeil exclaimed, "He won't hurt anybody!"

"We have to take precautions. It wasn't my choice, the higher-ups decided to tell the press."

"They'll try to get as far away as possible if they know they're being hunted down," said Seulgi.

"Exactly! This does more harm than good—"

"Taeil, we _need_ to find them quickly. We don't know what state Taeyong is in. He could be sick, or even ready to kill somebody. We can't predict his movements."

The caretaker sighed. "He only attacked the nurse because he was cornered."

"Then what if somebody confronts them? We need to find them before that happens. I personally requested that people report, but not approach them."

"Mark isn't stupid, he's probably thought this through," said Seulgi, "they'll go somewhere they won't get caught."

Detective Kim massaged his temples, shaking his head in frustration. "What about you? Did you find anything?"

"They stayed over a few towns over, and the owner of the location believes they're heading towards the Han River. They asked for directions to a bus into the center of the district."

"Any luck contacting Mark?"

"His phone is turned off."

"So, we can't even track them," the detective sighed, "that was a good move on his part, but they can't cover their tracks completely."

Seulgi looked at the map on the desk, looking over the possible locations. "Should we split up? One stay in Gwanak, somebody goes along the route to Dongjak and another out of Seoul?"

"Just in case they've gone back on themselves?" asked Detective Kim, and she nodded.

"I'll go to Dongjak. I can navigate there well," said Taeil.

Seulgi looked at her watch. "Shouldn't the detective stay at the midpoint? I can go out of Seoul."

"You're right. But I want updates at every major change, alright? Don't hide anything, or you'll both get into trouble with the Chief."

**~**

"You're refusing to go to school and you're visiting the hospital again," said Mrs Kim, "Doyoung, what is going on?"

He slowed down as he was walking down the stairs, tightly gripping onto the bag on his back. He avoided his mother's gaze and sighed. "I'm visiting somebody."

"Well obviously you're not going for the sake of it, are you? Who are you visiting? Mark and Taeyong are missing, so you can use the excuse that you're going with Mark."

"One of the patients."

"Yet again, obviously," Mrs Kim crossed her arms. "Be honest with me, Doyoung. I want to be there for you, but you keep hiding things from me."

He sighed, dragging himself down the rest of the steps. "Jung Jaehyun, he was a past patient. He's in a coma."

"Are you dating?"

"What? No!"

Mrs Kim raised an eyebrow. "No? So, you're just friends?"

"Yes!"

"Alright," she chuckled, "I'm coming with you, solely because I don't trust that you won't run away to find Mark."

"Fine," he groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll wait outside."

He walked over to the door, his eyes fixed on the ground. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he _was_ beginning to enjoy being with Jaehyun before everything occurred. He sat in the car in thought, staring out of the window at the houses passing from view. They drove past Namhyeon, and Doyoung sighed quietly.

He didn't realize how much he enjoyed being in there until it was taken away. He found it odd; a pile of bricks could oddly hold sentimental value. He knew the others were probably devastated, it was practically their home for so long.

The drive passed quickly, thoughts circulating in Doyoung's mind. He could tell his mother was looking over at him throughout the journey, he knew she'd be worried. It surprised him that she didn't seem to be too alarmed about the situation.

"Don't take _too_ long," said Mrs Kim as they stepped out of the car.

As they walked towards the hospital, Doyoung noticed how there seemed to be more police than there was beforehand. It wasn't as though they'd come back, so they were just wasting time and people who could be elsewhere. Security seemed to be far tighter, and even at the front desk, he was told he could only visit for an hour. He would have stayed longer if he could. His mother followed behind him. She was more curious about what was going on in the hospital, looking around.

As they walked towards Jaehyun's room, there were police officers stood outside, even if there hadn't been before. Initially, Doyoung assumed it was because of the security, but getting closer to the opened door, he heard a familiar voice. He quickly ran towards the door and looked inside.

"How many times do I have to tell you to leave it?" asked Jaehyun, looking at the doctor in disbelief.

He looked over to the door, immediately smiling upon seeing Doyoung. The doctor turned around and let out a sigh.

"I'll be back later, but you need your bandages changed, whether you like it or not." He walked out, passing the teen and disappeared down the hallway.

"When did you wake up?" asked Doyoung, hurrying to sit beside the bed.

"Last night. Everyone was making a fuss about Taeyong and knocked me out of my so-called coma."

"Are you feeling okay?"

Jaehyun groaned. "I've been asked that enough, I don't need to hear it anymore. Yes, I've felt better, but I'm fine."

Doyoung gently smiled in relief, looking down as the patient placed his head down on the pillow.

"So, the doctor won't tell me anything. Has anything happened _other_ than Taeyong and Mark running away because of their forbidden love?"

"Not much, but I think Mark has been kicked out of school-"

"It isn't important anyway."

"It kind of is," said Doyoung.

"I didn't go to school. I refused after middle school, I stayed in my room listening to tunes and doing illegal things, and I'm perfectly fine."

The teen scoffed. "I wouldn't say 'perfectly fine'."

"Well, I do admit those said illegal things probably didn't help with my brain, but still, the school made it worse too."

"Have you been told when you can leave?"

"Don't get your hopes up, I don't think I'll be allowed to go and live a normal life."

"You haven't done anything wrong, though."

He huffed. "I know, but I might be re-admitted to the psych if that's what they want. And I have nowhere else to go."

"I could ask my mother if you could stay with us-"

"I'm not burdening your family, Doyoung. I'm grateful you'd try, but I'm not just a friend in a bit of trouble. I've got a crappy past _and_ my head is all over the place."

"That's fine, my mother is experienced and I could learn," said Doyoung promptly.

Jaehyun grabbed his hand and smiled. "Thank you, but I honestly will understand if that won't work out."

**~**

After reaching a small six-room place of accommodation in a quiet area of Gwacheon—which was a fair walk from where they had gotten off of the bus—Mark practically dragged Taeyong out of the room. It was a change of plans, but with a different route, there wasn't much they could do. He led the patient out, trying to navigate the unfamiliar place and headed away from the building. He ignored as Taeyong asked where they were going, several times, and jumped down from the path. The elder following, huffing, and carefully stepped down. He turned to look at the teen as he suddenly decided to lie on the grass. 

"We could have just lied down in the room, you know."

"Just come here," said Mark, "it's different."

"Yeah, colder."

He still lay beside the teen, turning his head to look at him. Mark pointed at the dark sky, prompting the elder to look up. He looked, and seeing how clear the sky was and how the stars were brightly shining down on them, he smiled. He didn't even notice Mark looking at him with a foolish grin plastered on his face.

"They're so... small."

"Well, they are quite far away."

"I know that," said Taeyong, "but that means, to them, we're also tiny. That's kind of scary."

The younger chuckled, sitting up. "You're adorable."

"Shut up," he pouted.

The patient rested his head on the ground, a soft sigh of relief escaping his mouth as they sat in silence. It was relaxing, even if he was cold.

"I don't think I've ever felt so alive in my entire life," he said, "I was always too focused on protecting myself to actually live my life."

"You don't need to protect yourself now, I'll protect you."

"You won one fight, and now you're going to shield me from the world?"

"If that's what I have to do."

Taeyong smiled, but his body was overrun by a shiver. Though he was trying to hide it from Mark—as the latter seemed content—the younger looked over. As the patient's eyes stayed fixed on the sky, he heard shuffling beside him and turned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What are you doing?"

Mark took off his hoodie and leaned over, placing it over Taeyong. "We can't risk you getting sick, so tell me when you want to go inside."

"But aren't you cold?"

"No, I'm fine."

The elder moved over to the teen as he held himself up on his side, resting his head on his balled fist.

"Don't fall asleep out here," Mark whined.

"I won't," Taeyong replied, closing his eyes.

"You will. You sleep _anywhere_."

"That's not the point."

The younger shook his head. "That's _exactly_ the point."

"If I fall asleep, kiss me, and I'll wake up."

"Alright, I'll only ever kiss you when you fall asleep in inconvenient places."

Taeyong's eyes widened. "No, that's not fair!"

"Yes, it is," Mark affirmed.

The patient huffed, turning away from the younger. Mark simply chuckled, expecting the other to completely drop it—as it was, very obviously, a joke—but he ignored him. 

"Come on, you can't think I'm being serious."

Silence. The teen grinned, leaning over to look at Taeyong's expression to see whether or not he was just playing along with the joke or if he was genuinely annoyed. He couldn't see, so pulled the elder's arm to try and get him to turn back, but the latter resisted. He sighed. The patient could be stubborn when he wanted to be.

"You won't listen to me?"

Mark pressed his lips into a line. Seeing no other option, he planted a kiss on Taeyong's jawline. It proved successful, as he turned onto his back once again. His action left the younger's head almost hovering over his own, looking down with wide eyes. The patient blinked. Mark gulped, his eyes travelling down the elder's face.

“What are you—”

Taeyong watched, pausing as the younger's arm raised and he pushed his black hair away from his eyes, his hesitance evident. He soon felt Mark's lips on his, yet, somehow, it felt different to each time before. The younger grabbed onto Taeyong's shoulder, merely as a way to pull himself closer. Mark was surprised when he felt the patient's arms slip around his waist. The teen moved his hand, holding onto the elder's face gently.

“Wait,” said Taeyong, pulling his lips away, “should we go inside?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this house, we are E for violence. Use your imagination. I don't know what readers want from the story (aside for the few readers over on Wattpad who had some... interesting ideas), and this last section is just a little MarkYong content. I know it's wishful thinking, but I hope that people are here for the storyline rather than _just_ the ship, y'know? Anyways, like I've always said, don't hesitate to share your opinions. I get giddy when I get a comment email XD


	46. Close Call

"This is tiring," Taeil sighed. "But with _him_ on our trail, we couldn't even defend them if we wanted to."

Detective Kim was walking behind, on-call with his nosy Chief who wouldn't go an hour without asking for an update. Everyone knew it was urgent, but Taeil couldn't help but feel nervous about what would happen when they found them.

"Speak for yourself, if Taeyong is healthy, I'm going to make sure they don't get caught. I can't imagine what it'd be like for him to get locked back in a room after this. Somebody tried to _kill_ him, for goodness sake!"

The caretaker could understand Seulgi's reasoning. "Let's just hope they're already on their way to their next stay-over location."

Walking along the gravel path, Taeil looked around. The area was nice. He'd never been out of Seoul, and even if they were only a short while out of the city, the environment was completely different. It felt like they'd travelled to a whole new country to him. Hills of grass and almost endless fields were all that was around them. The small inn almost blended in with the environment, especially when they stepped inside and his eyes set on the wooden beams lining the ceiling.

"Welcome."

A small elderly man stood up, hurrying over to the desk as he saw them walk in.

"We're looking for some people who've come through this way," said Taeil as Detective Kim walked in.

"We don't have many people around here, I should be able to help."

The detective took out two photos and placed them on the desk, showing his ID badge. Seulgi sighed as the man looked at his photos, putting on his glasses.

"Those two kids, they're here. Is something wrong?"

"Could you take us to their room? One's run away from his parents, and the other is an escaped patient."

The man shook his head. "They don't seem like bad kids, but if you're with the police, I won't cause trouble for you. Just let me get the spare key."

Taeil and Seulgi shared worried glances as the man ducked behind the counter. The latter took a deep breath.

"We shouldn't alarm them. If we all go in, Taeyong could get defensive."

"I hope my trust in you won't backfire," said Detective Kim, "fine, you two go in first, make sure they don't escape and bring them down here."

Taeil nodded. "They'll listen to us."

The man handed him a key and pointed them in the right direction. Walking up the creaking wooden stairs, he turned to Seulgi.

"You're crazy, _really_ crazy to even consider preventing a capture."

"Recklessness runs in the family."

When they reached the top of the—very few—stairs, Taeil hesitantly opened the door. He clenched his jaw as even the door creaked, and his eyes set on two lying in bed as he shut the door behind Seulgi.

"I'd ask questions once they woke up, but I'm not sure I'd want to know and we _certainly_ don't have the time."

They were both asleep. Mark was holding the patient in his arms—mysteriously both lacking shirts—while Taeyong was unsurprisingly snuggled up to the younger's body. Taeil shook his head, making his way over to the bed. He gently shook them both.

The teen was the first one to open his eyes, and pushed himself back in surprise, consequently waking the elder in the process. Instead of realizing there were people behind him, Taeyong instead moved closer to lie the way he was before, but Mark tapped him.

"What are you doing here?"

The patient lifted his head up and turned around after hearing the younger's half-whisper, eyes widening when he saw Taeil and Seulgi stood in the room.

"You need to run," said the latter, "run, and get as far away from here as possible."

"Are the police here?" asked Mark, sitting up.

"There's no time to talk. Do you still have my number written on paper?"

"It should be in my bag—"

"If you come across a public telephone, call me," said Seulgi, "I want to know you're both alright."

Taeil looked down at the ground. He knew what he wanted to do, but with everybody being in different situations, it wouldn't work.

"Quickly!"

Taeyong got up, realizing the urgency. He grabbed his shirt and hoodie from the ground, hurrying to put them both on. Mark did the same thing, grabbing his bag afterwards. Once they were both as ready as they could be in a rush, Seulgi looked at her brother and hugged him.

"We'll see each other again, count on it. I'll come and see you both when the excitement of your disappearance dies down. Don't cause too much trouble for Mark."

Taeyong never expected to be jumping out of _another_ window, but once he got away from his sister's hug, he opened the window and looked out. It was higher than the last, but only around the height he'd jumped from a tree in the past. He looked back at Mark who looked at him in anticipation.

"I don't know what will happen from now on," said Taeil behind them, "but whatever you do, _please_ don't die."

"I'm not planning on it, and I won't let Mark get hurt either."

The younger scoffed. "I'm the one looking after you."

Hearing the creaking of the stairs, Taeyong's eyes widened and he jumped out—Mark soon hesitantly following after him—and landed on the floor with a small thud. When the younger dusted himself off, they looked up at the window as Taeil and Seulgi looked out. Weakly smiling, the patient turned away and ran out of sight with the teen closely behind him.

Seulgi let out a sigh, turning as the door opened. "They're gone, we were too late."

"I see, is that the case?" Detective Kim raised an eyebrow, and Taeil nodded.

"They'll probably head to the next place, I assume," she added.

"Well, to satisfy the Chief, let's look around the surrounding area. They can't have gone far," said the detective.

They watched as he took out his phone, obviously calling the Chief, and waited. Taeil panicked. He didn't know if Detective Kim was believing their very poor lie.

"Hello? Chief? At... thirty-three minutes past nine, the wanted individuals were already missing from their hotel room in Gwacheon."

Seulgi checked her watch. It was thirty-five, and they had been in their room for a fair few minutes. It was obvious they'd let them escape. She didn't know if she was over-thinking it, but she was beginning to believe that Detective Kim was purposefully covering their tracks.

"We'll search the area and split up for a search again."

He ended the call and looked up, sighing.

"I'm only doing this because I've heard the ideas for Taeyong's punishment going around. We're completely alone in this. I'm risking my job to keep these two out of the law's hands, we need to work together and get them off the radar before the search team is expanded. Officers are already on alert all around surrounding cities."

"Any ideas?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure there's something out there that we can do."

**~**

Taeyong wasn't sure if he'd ever run so fast before—but it wasn't out of fear—his adrenaline was pushing him onward, running closely behind Mark as the younger made their location _very_ obvious, shouting and cheering loudly. The patient chuckled, breathing heavily as he tried his best to keep up. He'd have long stopped if it hadn't been for the teen's oddly energetic demeanor.

But even in a world where almost everybody seemed to be out to get them, at that moment, it felt like they were alone and free to do whatever they liked. In reality, they actually were. They only had each other—for the most part—and nobody could throw around their rules. Literally in the middle of nowhere, they weren't under anybody's control or restrictions.

Freedom was an odd thing. No matter how one lived, in society, there's always somebody who's above you; there's always somebody who can look down on you, make snarky comments and ruin your entire life in the click of their fingers. It's only when you take away that hierarchy that you can truly be free to dictate your own life. Taeyong had learned that people found comfort in that order. People complied without a second thought because it was _all_ they knew.

But he'd never been in that structure. He was forced to be independent of a young age. He was a threat to their system—a break in the flow. Nobody saw him as what he really was. A person. Alike everybody else yet different.

It was easy for everybody else to cut him from their eyes. It had been a recurring thing throughout history, after all. People removed the undesirable from their life. There was no place for him in their world. Nor was there a place for Yuta, Johnny and Kun. Ten and Yangyang hardly held a place in society either. Jaehyun was the epitome of what they saw in the youth, the self-destructive tendencies and a kind of magnetism to trouble.

Whole groups of people were removed from society's eyes, pushed aside. Everybody thought it'd be better to just let them die and start anew. Humans were perfectionists, and that's something that would never change. Toxic opinions and hate-fueled fury was embedded in human wiring. Such judgemental beings were hardly innocent, but they pushed the blame onto the undesirable people in their system.

Reaching an area of thick forest, Mark slammed his hand onto a tree and leaned over to catch his breath. Taeyong was relieved when he came to a stop, falling almost silent from the joyous uproar. The younger smiled at him, sitting down among the early Autumn fallen leaves and snapped branches. "Sorry, I kind of got a bit rowdy then."

"That's the energy we need, but I _am_ tired now."

"Let's make a plan. What now? They're closer to us than I thought, we need to be careful, they might not let us go next time."

"I never thought I'd be running from Taeil," the elder sighed.

"Don't think of it that way, think of it as running from the police."

"That makes me feel like a criminal."

Mark looked down at the forest floor, brushing away some of the leaves. "Right, but either way—they _helped_ us."

"So, where next?"

"I'm not exactly sure where we are, now anyway. But if we walk for a while, I think we should eventually find some kind of civilization."

**~**

Finding civilization proved harder than simply wandering through the woods searching for an opening in the trees. Wandering across a roadside, Taeyong was practically dragging himself along, kicking up dust as his shoes collided with the ground. Mark was _also_ beginning to feel the strain. It wasn't as though his bag weighed too much, but with the abnormally clear skies for the time of year and the bright sun peeking through the trees which were trapping them at each side.

Mark looked back as Taeyong wiped the sweat from his forehead, an exhausted sigh slipping out from his lips. He knew his body wasn't taking the abrupt increase in activity well, his head had been feeling like it was spinning ever since they began to search for somewhere to go. The teen spared him a concerned glance before halting in his path. "Water?"

The elder nodded, he watched as the younger took of his bag and placed it on the floor among filth as he rummaged through, looking for the bottle of water. The patient blinked repeatedly. His vision was growing increasingly more blurry. After finding the bottle among their other things, Mark looked up at him, unnerved by the silence on the elder's behalf. He immediately began to panic.

"Taeyong? What's happening?" he asked.

Mark dropped the bottle onto the ground. He pushed his bag aside, carefully watching as the patient looked down at the ground, almost glaring at it. The teen watched with wide eyes. Before he could react, Taeyong began to lean before his body crashed onto the dusty road. Mark shot up, hurrying over to his side. He shook the elder, panicked, looking around.

"Taeyong!" he shouted.

The patient clenched his eyes shut, the blinding sunlight attacking his eyes. His breathing was weak and unsteady. Mark pulled him up, placing his arm around the elder's shoulder to keep him upright. Taeyong's head hung down loosely and he could hardly use whatever was left of his energy to lift it, or even speak for that matter. He sunk back into the teen's arm and the latter pulled him towards him to keep him up.

"Can you hear me?"

The elder nodded weakly.

"Look at me," said the teen, holding his head up by his chin.

When Taeyong opened his eyes, Mark stared into them, checking his pupils. He didn't know _what_ was in the elder's system, especially for such a late reaction—if that was even the cause—but he assumed it's still present itself in a similar way. Though the former tried to turn away, he firmly pulled him back for a moment before letting him look away. The teen made sure he couldn't fall, holding him under his arms as he pulled the rim of the patient's hoodie up, struggling to take it off while holding him. Even when he only took his hand away for a moment, Taeyong began to fall back and he had to immediately give in trying to take his hoodie off. Mark gritted his teeth. That was the worst thing that could happen while they were on the run. Something was telling the patient that whatever was happening, it wasn't the work of any substances. It didn't _feel_ the same.

He snapped his neck around as he heard a noise behind him, and seeing a car coming over the hill, he grabbed his bag with his free hand and put the bottle back inside. "This may or may not be a good idea, but right now we don't have much of a choice."

He watched as the car came closer, visibly slowing down as it approached them. He waved his hand to them anyway, not wanting to risk losing the only potential help they could get. The car came to a stop, and a bearded man stepped out, rushing over.

"Is he alright?" asked the man, "What are you doing out here?"

"It's a long story."

The man looked at Mark and nodded. "Have you been out for long?"

"A few hours."

"That's no good in these conditions. Come on, I don't live too far from here, I'm sure we can be of some help. You can trust me, I'm not going to leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere."

The teen hesitantly nodded. He just hoped that trusting a stranger in a warn-out looking off-road truck wouldn't backfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you think Mark should have trusted the stranger?
> 
> Also, I realized I haven't actually mentioned Ten and Jaehyun's pasts yet, really. There's so much going on in the story that some characters get kind of left out during certain parts. Is there anybody you want to see more or even just have them in a section of one of the next chapters?


	47. Trust

The man opened the door to his truck and Mark was taken aback when a tri-colored Border Collie jumped out of the back. The dog simply looked at them, turning when the man opened the front door.

"Willow, in."

The Collie jumped into the car, and the teen would have found it far cuter how it looked out of the window from the passenger seat if he wasn't holding Taeyong's trembling, hardly-responsive body in his arms.

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" asked the man, kneeling before them both.

"Not exactly, but he has a fever."

The man hummed. "If you've been walking in this sunlight for hours, I'm not surprised he's overheating. Take that hoodie off first, I'll cool the car and once we're at my place we can try and get him back to normal."

Mark held onto Taeyong as the man managed to pull the thick fabric over his head. He put the teen's bag and the hoodie in the back of the car, and stood beside them as Mark stood the patient up. Taeyong was _trying_ to help by walking, but he was feeling far too weak to be successful, instead being half-dragged to the car. After a struggle, he was in the car and Mark got in the other door. As the man started the engine, the teen looked over to see Taeyong looking at the dog who was peeking around the chair, gently smiling. He chuckled, looking out of the window.

"So, I'm Sunghoon. Don't be expecting a palace, we live in a tiny cottage out in the woods. I'm not just some lonely old man with a dog, I _do_ have a wife and children, but they've grown up now and have moved out. It's just me, my wife and Willow here."

"I'm Mark, and that's Taeyong—"

After he'd said the patient's name, he mentally cursed, hoping he didn't somehow recognize the names.

"No interesting facts? Or are you staying mysterious?"

"No, we're just not particularly interesting."

Sunghoon laughed. "Well, if you don't want to tell me anything that's fine, but I'd prefer it if you'd let me know _why_ you were out here. You both look like you're from the city."

"We _are,_ but we were just... having a quiet holiday?"

"You don't sound so sure," he replied, "but that's fair enough, city life is probably tiring."

"Yeah..."

The man looked back in the rear-view mirror, his eyebrows furrowed. "But, how old are you both? You don't look very old."

"Taeyong's twenty-one and I'm twenty."

Lying wasn't Mark's speciality, but he didn't need yet another person to make a comment he didn't want to hear.

"As long as you're not runaway teenagers, that's alright. It's surprising how many of those we get around here."

The ride fell silent, but the teen heard Taeyong laugh and turned to see Willow licking his hand.

"You should've stayed in the back old girl, you're doing a good support job," said Sunghoon, "I did say I don't live _too_ far from here, but it is still far—closer to Uiwang."

**~**

Detective Kim got called back to the station from the search. The others were doing rounds of the area, looking for any sign of the direction Taeyong and Mark headed. When he walked into the station, he was surprised to see a familiar Detective stood outside of one of the interrogation rooms.

"Seojun?" he asked, walking over to the room, "What are you doing here?"

"It turns out that they need somebody more experienced to deal with one of the cases you've supplied us with," he replied, motioning to the interrogation room.

"Who is it?"

The other detective sighed. "Qian Kun. He attacked the last detective on his case."

"So they assigned him _another_?"

"Somebody needs to present the case to the prosecution, luckily I was free, so they've to give him to me. But he's been remanded in custody since you interrogated him and he's been attacked in prison _twice_."

They walked into the spectating room and Detective Kim looked at the prisoner at the other side, sat with a bloody lip and a clearly forming bruise on his face.

"He is quite the guy, I don't know what's gotten into him. His records were completely clean until this."

Seojun shrugged. "Late bloomer? Not all killers have their first crimes in their youth."

"Have they evaluated him yet?"

"Last week. They haven't sent us the results yet, but I'm assuming there's something going on up there," he tapped on his head and the other detective nodded.

Kun was sat staring at the table at the other side, slouching in his chair.

"So, I heard you're chasing Taeyong down?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "that boy is still as sly as a fox."

"That _boy_ is now a fully-grown man. He's not the same as the child we rescued eleven years ago. But I hate how it's ended up like this."

"They're aiming for a death sentence, you know. They want me to bring him back here and get a confession out of him, but if he refuses—or tries to claim innocence—they're on the higher-ups' order to disguise his death as something health-related. It's horrible how they can even _consider_ doing such a thing."

Seojun raised an eyebrow. "That tone... you're not thinking of doing something that'll get you into dirt with the higher-ups, are you?"

Detective Kim's expression answered that within itself. The other detective sighed.

"Kim Daesik. Are you insane?"

"Is that really an appropriate question?"

"I know you care about him, but this is _not_ a good idea. You could go to prison for this!"

Detective Kim sighed. "I'm aware!"

"You need to forget that child, look at the person you're supposed to be bringing back here. He's killed somebody and attacked three people. Sure, they're going too far with _killing_ him, but you can't let him run free and potentially harm more people."

"He won't, he's not a senseless killer!"

"I want him to live a long life just as much as you, but you can't hide him forever. Somebody's child is out there with him. You can't tear apart somebody's family."

"He wasn't even staying with his parents when he went missing, they kicked him out."

Seojun sighed. "Do you know how long you could go to prison for if they find out?"

"I know, I know."

"Let me help."

"Why would that make this any better?"

"They can't give us _both_ the maximum time. They're less likely to find them if we at least work together."

"That's not how it works!" said Detective Kim, "And you have a family to support. Stay out of this one."

"But—"

The detective sighed. "No. The best thing you can do is stay quiet about what you know."

**~**

Mark was relieved that he and Taeyong hadn't yet ended up dead in the middle of the woods. They reached Sunghoon's house hours earlier—the teen had to lead the half-asleep patient into the small house—and was introduced to Eunjung, the man's wife. They seemed nice, and Taeyong was more excited about Willow, naturally, and his state had seemed to improve after some rest. The patient was still, to Mark's knowledge, sleeping inside. On the other hand, the latter had been invited outside by Sunghoon to help him. He was initially taken aback when the elder took an axe out of the ragged, old wooden shed. Seeing the teen's reaction, he'd laughed, notifying Mark that he _wasn't_ an axe murderer. Watching the elder chop up wood, he had the job of putting the wood into its storage by the doorway and taking some inside.

"Don't worry about hurrying away from here, it gets lonely. Having you and Taeyong as company is a nice change, plus, Eunjung is naturally the type of person to want to care for others. We won't send you out there into the world while one of you is ill."

"Thank you for stopping back there, I was worried we'd be stranded there all day," he said.

"And you would have been. Not many people drive through here in a day. But luckily for you, you now have a place to stay and a nice hot meal heading your way," said Sunghoon, "speaking of that meal, I'll just go and make sure Eunjung isn't fussing over your friend too much and burning the food."

Mark chuckled as he jogged into the house. He looked around at the tall trees surrounding the house, hardly able to see the light on the other side of the thick ceiling of leaves covering the area. Sunghoon soon returned and grabbed the axe, returning it to the shed.

"That's enough for now, the food shouldn't be too long."

The teen followed him into the house, closing the door behind them. Returning to the main room, Mark smiled softly upon seeing that Willow had taken a place lying beside Taeyong, her nose almost touching his with how close they were.

"Looks like they've made friends already, doesn't it?" asked Eunjung, laughing.

Mark sat down on the ground by the patient. He looked over—hearing Sungjoon talk to his wife in the background—watching Taeyong with a concerned expression. He didn't know if his eyes were just deceiving him, but the elder still seemed to be shaking, though minimally. He looked far more peaceful when he was asleep. The teen wondered just what was going on; it was as though the patient's health had significantly declined since he'd been admitted to the hospital.

Mark was beginning to believe the universe was really out to get them. He didn't know what to blame. He was unsure if he should be panic-calling Seulgi in anticipation of another adverse reaction, or if it was something completely unrelated. It could have just been heat exhaustion for all he knew. He wasn't a medical genius.

Eunjung peeked into the room, taking the teen out of his thoughts. “Can you wake Taeyong? I'll set the table and if you need any help getting him into the other room, just shout.”

Mark nodded as Willow lifted her head, stretching before she made her way into the other room. The teen gently shook Taeyong's arm, feeling bad for waking him from his peaceful sleep. The elder opened one eye, making almost immediate eye contact with Mark. The patient groaned. “Why do you always wake me up?”

“Do you feel better than before?” he asked, “You scared me back then.”

“Better might be an overstatement.”

“You were trying to hide it from me, weren't you?”

Taeyong sat up, fixing his hair once he managed to prop himself up from the floor with his arm. He let out a sigh.

“You _collapsed_ that's kind of a huge deal. You're even still shaking now,” the younger pointed out, “what's going on?”

“I don't know. It's probably nothing.”

“Let's just eat for now, can you get up?”

The patient nodded, placing his hands down on the ground. Mark could see his reluctance. Taeyong looked at the floor for a few moments before he pushed himself up from the ground. The teen stood beside him, he didn't want to just watch in case something bad _did_ happen. Surely enough, shakily standing up, the patient lost balance and would've gone straight back onto the ground if it wasn't for Mark grabbing his arm.

“I'm still waking up,” Taeyong insisted, “I'll be fine later.”

The younger nodded. “Right? I'm just overthinking things.”

He helped the patient up, and even with the elder's assurance that everything was alright, it was obvious that Taeyong wasn't so sure himself. Mark walked closely beside him. When they reached the other room, Eunjung smiled.

“Eat up,” she said, “if somebody is feeling under the weather, food should be your first help.”

Taeyong looked down at the cutlery on the table and to his hand, watching it shake gently. His eyes met Mark's, though the younger turned around almost instantly afterwards. The patient picked up the fork and began to eat his food, trying to ignore anything that had been troubling him. It was beginning to prove harder than that he had expected.


	48. Flawed System

Jaehyun stretched as he stood up from his hospital bed, swinging a bag over his shoulder—as supplied by Doyoung for the extremely limited items in the patient's possession—as he took one last look around the room. He wasn't looking for anything. It wasn't as though he had anything of significant importance anyway, but he didn't like the idea of giving the cleaners an even tougher job when they'd already had to clean up enough of his blood that it looked like something had died in the room. He heard a knock on the door and turned back around, his mood immediately lifted as he saw Doyoung stood with his mother on the other side. The door opened and Jaehyun bowed to Mrs Kim. 

"Don't bother bowing, you're part of the family now."

The patient looked at Doyoung who was looking back at him grinning and he laughed. 

"Alright, no flirting. Let's go home, I'm sure you've had enough of this hospital by now."

The teen couldn't even complain as he knew his mother would just _insist_ that they were, indeed, flirting. Jaehyun didn't seem to mind, so neither did he. But he knew his mother was likely about to annoy him far more often than beforehand. Dr Yoon was stood down the hall and approached them as they left the room.

"Jaehyun, remember what I told you? Rest, change your bandages with somebody's help every day and if you feel lightheaded at any time or the wound bleeds more than usual, come back in. Remember to take your pain medication and the pills your psychiatrist gave you for your BPD, okay?"

"You only need to say it once," the patient complained.

"Can you make sure he does everything as he should, Mrs Kim? If you have any concerns you can call in and I'll make sure to contact you."

"I'll be writing him a daily schedule so he doesn't forget and I'll make a note of anything. I'm sure everything will be alright," she replied.

The doctor nodded. "You should be able to live a normal life now. Stay out of trouble, Jaehyun."

"'Normal' is boring, but I prefer knives out of my body, so I'll accept that," he scoffed.

“Good, now go on, enjoy your life.”

Jaehyun was almost certain he would. He felt belonging for once. Even when he lived with his parents growing up, he hadn't felt like he was supposed to be there at all. In school, he caught people's attention for all the wrong reasons, such as when he had fallen and sustained a—incredibly bloody—head injury in middle school. It wasn't actually too bad once his concussion faded, and sure, he _did_ have stitches in the back of his head for a while, but really it was only short-term. The only thing that stuck with him was the fear of blood he had acquired from the whole endeavor. If anything, it was more the cold, dark silence he found himself in as he slipped in and out of consciousness.

He found it ironic, as did everybody else, as on a few occasions, he'd actually fainted at the sight of blood. But he didn't exactly see it as a nuisance in his life, and through constant exposure—thanks to Johnny and Taeyong's permanent hatred of each other—it was beginning to subside a little bit. He didn't think the sour memories would ever leave him completely.

His teen years weren't the worst, nor the most enjoyable. He wouldn't consider himself the unluckiest person alive. He was constantly letting his parents down, but he never _wanted_ to be the person they saw him as. The years in the basketball team? Hell. Their wishes for him to attend a prestigious university? Never going to happen. He saw it coming when they ditched him in Namhyeon, but he didn't particularly hate them.

They still raised him, after all.

The ward staff had decided that Jaehyun couldn't be left to care for himself, even if he had proved he could live without pouring alcohol down his throat every few minutes. So, he was handed back to his parents—despite being old enough to be his own responsibility. He managed to get through a week of their constant snarky comments, insults and proclamations of their disappointment in him until they'd had enough and his father dragged him back into the now-abandoned asylum and told him to stay there and waste away on his own watch.

He _did_ understand where the ward staff were coming from. Before he was admitted to the ward to simultaneously deal with the alcoholic tendencies he'd adopted and try to help with his personality disorder, he was a mess. He locked himself in his room and did absolutely nothing. He didn't eat, complete any of his assignments or even leave to eventually graduate. When he wasn't drowning in his own sorrows and judgments, he was, generally, shouting at his parents for the littlest things. But to begin with, he was _terrified_ of being taken away from them.

He refused help every time they proposed it. He didn't mean to treat them as badly as he did; it just happened. If he could take everything that he'd said back, he would, but as far as he was aware, they'd disappeared off of the face of the earth.

Doyoung nudged him, noticing the elder's mental absence and, brought out of his thoughts, he smiled. At last, he was finally going to be happy. He didn't feel like he was being a burden to anybody—he felt like he belonged with them. Perhaps he could finally find his peace.

**~**

Mark glanced through the open door to the spare room that they were staying in and smiled seeing Taeyong with his head down on the desk. The elder had taken an old newspaper and some paper, trying to decipher what was being said. He didn't have the book that Seulgi had given him, so he was merely trying to pass time by experimenting with words. He had been struggling and it looked like he had given up. His writing was worse than usual, the lines shaky and in some places, it was evident that he'd gotten frustrated and practically dragged the pencil, leaving a trail of crushed graphite.

Looking back to see Eunjung was preoccupied talking to Sunghoon by the front door, the teen crept towards the chair where the patient was. The elder never moved, so Mark had another idea. He snaked his arms around Taeyong and rested his head on his shoulder. The latter opened his eyes, confused as he softly covered the teen's hands.

“Instead of sleeping, don't you think we should get out and about every now and again?”

The patient let out a sign. He looked down at his legs and tensed. Mark seemed to notice and his lips gently made contact with the elder's neck for a moment, before he took them away and simply returned to his prior place resting on Taeyong's shoulder. The elder was surprised, but he smiled nonetheless.

“I'll be beside you to come to your rescue if you need it,” said the younger, “I promise.”

“What's gotten into you today?”

“What? Do you not like—”

“No, no. It's perfect, you just don't normally act like that.”

Mark nodded. “Well, since we're _technically_ dating now, it feels appropriate.”

“It's not technically, we are, aren't we?”

“I suppose so.”

The elder chuckled. “Finally.”

“So, as your loyal boyfriend, I'm going to need you to trust me and rely on me.”

“I _do_ trust you.”

“Then don't keep your struggles to yourself. Your body is still quite weak, it's obvious something isn't right and it's bothering you.”

Taeyong nodded hesitantly. He'd always kept things inside, hidden under his nonchalant facade. Mark smiled, sneakily kissing the elder again. The patient couldn't complain, he loved the warmth and happiness that it gave him.

“That being said—” he kissed the elder again, “—we have to be careful, no more of what happened the other day until we aren't at risk of being thrown out onto the streets, okay?”

The patient looked puzzled, and Mark sighed.

“Just... we need to keep this relationship low-key while we're here as a precaution.”

“We shouldn't have to,” Taeyong whined.

“Either way, I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate _that,_ would they?”

The elder rolled his eyes, realizing what he was referring to. “Why is everybody so filthy? That was a one-off because I was _curious_ as to what all the fuss is about.”

“Well, good. We can't risk losing a place to stay right now.”

He still found Taeyong's innocence adorable, even if he'd been able to bring out another side of him. He was somewhat relieved that nothing had changed since their night in Gwacheon.

“So, a walk in the woods? Does that sound acceptable?”

“If you don't make us get lost.”

**~**

“You must be Chittaphon,” said a man as he walked into the station, “I'm Detective Ahn Seojun, I'm now dealing with Kun's case.”

Ten looked back at the detective looking completely unimpressed. He was glad they'd agreed to let him visit Kun, but he was far too tired from thinking to be energetic. His dark circles were getting far more prominent as time passed. Even if he'd been given the chance to avoid being admitted to an institution by staying with Hendery, Xiaojun and Yangyang short-term. They said it would stress him out more if he was admitted, but it wasn't as simple as that. By keeping him out they didn't eliminate the risk he posed to himself, only made it easier for him to go unnoticed.

“I've been given permission to give you both some time alone, but only if you feel safe enough in his company.”

“Of course I do,” Ten sneered, “I wouldn't be here if I thought he'd turn against me.”

Detective Ahn nodded, “alright, then you can begin your five minutes when you're ready.”

“I'm ready now.”

The detective began to unlock the door and Ten gulped; he didn't know what to expect. He knew Kun had been spending his time in prison before the sentencing, being treat as though he was guilty already. When the door was pushed open, he made his way in without hesitation. He didn't want to miss the opportunity.

Kun looked up, practically glaring as the door opened, but seeing Ten stood before him, his expression immediately softened and he stood up. He still had handcuffs tightly hugging his wrists, but he couldn't convince the detective to take them off.

Ten soon made his way over to the elder, engulfing him in a hug. The prisoner smiled gently as he felt the younger's face nuzzle into his neck. “We don't have forever, so I'll make this quick.”

Hearing him talk, Ten looked up. He wiped his eyes before any tears could fall and took the prisoner's cuffed hands into his grasp.

“As a last resort, we'll try an insanity defense,” said Kun, “otherwise, they want to send me back to China and let our court make the decision, but that can only go two ways—life or death.”

“That's wrong—”

“It's the law. Flawed. It's wrong and unreasonable, but that's how it works. If they don't accept the defense, or at least acknowledge self-defense and reduce the charge to just armed assault, I don't think we'll be seeing each other again.”

Ten embraced him again, sniffling against Kun's shoulder. “Don't say that...”

“You should probably expect the worst—”

“I won't! Y-You can't leave me!”

“I don't _want_ to, you're the only person I genuinely love.”

Hearing the younger's quiet crying, Kun kissed him on the head. He couldn't do much to comfort him, being restricted by the handcuffs, but he didn't want to stand there doing absolutely nothing.

“It's been pretty crazy these past few years. I know we promised to so much together, but we can't. I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault. I know you took that knife to protect everybody,” said Ten, “but Jaehyun...”

“It was at the moment. I didn't think.”

The younger forced a smile. “Right? I know you wouldn't hurt anybody purposefully.”

“What about you? Are you free now?”

“I'm not condemned to a tiny room, but without you...”

“Don't let me hinder your life. Forget about me if things go wrong. I know deep inside you don't completely trust me.”

Ten furrowed his eyebrows, pushing himself away from the elder. “I do—”

“You think I did it on purpose. You think I made it all up and that I killed that wanderer in cold blood, don't you?”

“W-What? Why would I—”

“Should I tell you the truth? Or, are you going to tell the Detective what I say?”

“I wouldn't do that and you know that.”

Kun's hands dropped from Ten's grasp and he sat back in his chair, leaning back against the cold metal. He sneered, his gaze meeting the younger. “Fine, I'll admit it. I did that by my own free will. He didn't bring that knife in; what kind of person carries around a weapon?”

“What do you mean?” asked Ten cautiously.

“I brought that knife myself. I dragged that guy into the building from outside where he was harassing somebody and forced that knife into his body—are you happy now?”

The younger tried to keep his composure. He didn't know if he should have believed it or not, maybe it was all just some sick joke, or, he hoped it was.

“I wanted to try it just once. I wanted to see if I could do it like them, I didn't know if I had what it takes. I thought I'd realize what I was doing last minute and would let him go. But I didn't, and the next thing I knew, he was bleeding out on the floor. But he deserved it. I didn't mean to alert everybody, but then you all covered for me.”

Ten could swear he saw the prisoner smirk from the corner of his eyes. Of course, they'd cover for him thinking it was actually an accident. Kun must have anticipated that.

“I'd do it again. Maybe I'm better off behind bars, right?”

“Don't be ridiculous, it was an accident. You didn't do that on purpose.”

“Oh, Ten... You need to stop looking away from reality and face it,” said the elder, “but if you could pretend that I haven't told you, that would be good. I don't think you want me to be killed 'in the name of the law.'”

Ten didn't know what overcame him, but clenching his fists beside him, he took a deep breath. “You're lying to me.”

“I'd never lie to you.”

“You're making it up! You didn't do that!”

Kun felt the younger punch his chest gently before he shrunk down onto his knees. Ten's tears began to stream as he looked down onto the ground, his fists still balled on his knees. The prisoner leaned down, running his—still cuffed—hand along the younger's face. He was about to kiss him before he was pushed away and Ten stood back up, edging to the door.

“Don't be like this,” Kun complained.

It was overwhelming him. Ten breathed shakily as he stood by the door, wiping his eyes. He knocked on the door and Kun reached out for him, grabbing his wrist as he heard movement on the other side.

“Is that it now? I trust you with such a delicate secret and then you leave?”

The door opened and Detective Ahn's eyes set straight on Ten's arm.

“Let go of him Kun, now.”

The prisoner looked bitterly at the detective as his grip loosened and Ten tore his arm away. Their eyes met for a moment as Detective Ahn forced him to sit on the chair, pushing down on his shoulders.

Kun stared as the younger stood outside of the door looking in as the detective closed it, it clicked shut and the prisoner was left alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any thoughts?


	49. Dictated Fates

With a gentle breeze in the Autumn air, leaves gracefully fell from the trees creating a blanket on the woodland floor. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of towering trees. Mark ran his fingers through the strands of Taeyong's black hair as the elder rested his head on his shoulder, quietly breathing as he sat with his eyes shut. The teen turned his head, though not enough to disturb the patient's peaceful rest, looking down at where the latter's hands were resting on his lap.

He carefully lifted one of Taeyong's hands—relieved when he didn't stir in the slightest—and held it in his hands. Mark smiled as the elder snuggled closer to him.

The sound of running water and the softly blowing wind against the trees was, for the most part, all that could be heard for miles, no cars and no sounds of the bustling city. There were occasionally chirps from distant birds and the sound of scurrying through the thick green ferns which populated the ground.

Mark didn't even want to think about how many spiders were wandering around probably mere millimetres away from him, crawling all over the fabric of his clothes and leaving webs in their path. But Taeyong was comfortable, and to him, that was all that mattered. He knew the elder had a sense of familiarity when he was surrounded by nature.

He'd almost fallen down a hill out of excitement when he saw the river running through the trees, Mark had to grab him to stop him from losing balance and rolling his way _into_ the water. After the initial joy as he dipped his hand into the icy water and flicked some at the teen, who immediately took shelter behind a tree so Taeyong couldn't scoop water in his direction, they eventually sat down against the rough bark of a large oak tree.

Mark did just want to relax away from Eunjung and Sunghoon. He didn't want to risk them reacting similarly to his parents—or, specifically, his father—and wanted to refrain from having to deal with the stress of being thrown back into their situation of having nowhere to go.

He was surprised to see the elder's eyes open. He'd thought he'd somehow fallen asleep, which didn't shock him since Taeyong had proved he'd sleep wherever he felt safe enough to. Mark's eyes met the patient's as the latter looked up, intertwining his fingers with the teen's rather than their prior situation. The younger tried to ignore the gentle trembling of the patient's hand which was still very much present.

“You were awake?”

“I'll always be awake when you least expect me to be,” he chuckled, “but I was about to fall asleep.”

“Do you want to go back?”

Taeyong shook his head, “not yet.”

“I'm curious,” said Mark, putting his free arm around the elder. “Why did you want to escape _just_ to come to a river?”

“There was one on the farm, running along the side of the house and through one of the sheep fields.”

“Doesn't that bring back bad memories?”

“Even if there are bad things in somebody's life, not all of it is bad. The bad parts might overpower the good, but there's always something positive,” Taeyong replied, “I ran down to the river whenever I was feeling sad. It's—”

Mark looked up from the ground as the elder suddenly fell silent, he looked into the distance with confusion written on his expression. “What is it?”

“I can't... the word.”

“You can't think of the word?” the teen chuckled.

He found it adorable, though he wouldn't say it out loud. He knew the patient would object.

“It's... relaxing?”

“That makes sense,” said the younger, “it made you feel better?”

Taeyong nodded. “It was like an escape. It was like another world to me.”

“Well, when we eventually have a plan for the future, let's try and look for somewhere out of the way like this. We can't stay here forever, after all.”

“Do you think we'll be able to live without being hunted down?”

Mark tried to smile reassuringly, but in truth, he was just as uneasy as the elder. He didn't know what was going to happen. “No matter what happens, I won't let anybody tear us apart.”

“Neither will I,” Taeyong smiled, “but I think you'll be more effective with the way things are going with me right now.”

“Do you think it's something serious?”

“No, probably not. Everything will be normal if we just give it time.”

“Should we head back for today? We can come out here again another day.”

“I suppose,” the elder nodded.

He began to stand up, his grip loosening on Mark's hand but the latter kept hold of him. “Wait.”

Taeyong looked back down, his free hand pushed against the moss-coated tree roots. He'd hardly gotten up, anyway. The teen quickly planted a kiss on his lips, eventually letting go of the elder's hand.

“You could have stood up to do that,” said the patient.

“I know, but it was easier to do it then,” said Mark as he stood up and held his hand out for Taeyong, “and I can help you, now.”

The elder chuckled, grabbing onto the teen's hand. The latter pulled him up and made sure he didn't immediately fall back down before leaving him to stand on his own. Mark wiped himself down as Taeyong leaned on the tree, waiting for him to be ready to walk back.

**~**

Sicheng felt worn-out as he sat inside of the courtroom, his eyes threatening to close at any moment. Yuta had been staring at him from his place on the defendant's stand for almost the entirety of the hour long time the hearing had been occurring, dressed in the blue prison uniform with his hair messily brushed across his forehead, almost hindering his sight. On several occasions, his attorney had to gain his attention for the hearing to proceed, as he was required to talk rather than sit silently allowing everybody to simply dictate his fate.

It wasn't the first time Sicheng had visited a hearing for Yuta. Rather, it was the second. Due to the number of crimes they were attempting to sentence him for, instead of having one incredibly long sitting of listening to the prosecution's morbid and outlandish over-exaggeration of the crimes, it was split into two. Taeil had initially intended to also attend the final hearing, but as the search for Taeyong and Mark was—in the Detective Chief's opinion—an emergency, he had to continue searching as usual with Detective Kim and Seulgi.

Sicheng had been in and out of his thoughts during the entire hearing. He was panicked and hadn't the slightest idea of what to expect, as the prosecutors and Yuta's attorney had been contending whether the killings counted as murder when he didn't pursue anybody to kill them. They wandered upon his path—thus aligning more with voluntary manslaughter. But the attorney was challenging both the prosecutor's and the judges' morals, speaking of the past and reminding them of the treatment of Namhyeon's patients.

“There's a flaw in our systems here—if none of this absurdity had occurred, the defendant wouldn't see only violence as a defense mechanism! Such a response is written deep in our wiring!”

The prosecutor snickered. “With that mindset, do you believe every criminal who's had past mistreatment deserves to have their crimes overlooked?”

“This isn't about everybody else, this is about the defendant who is here, right now.”

“What makes him different from the rest, then?”

“First, he had to withstand the severe abuse from his mother in his youth. That directly influenced his reasoning and he was admitted to Namhyeon for _treatment,_ not torture, but yet, like every other patient in what was supposed to be a place of rehabilitation for the youth, back then, he was pushed aside, locked in a room and had undergone the same atrocities he'd just managed to escape from.”

“With all due respect, that doesn't excuse taking several lives. How do you think the victim's families feel?” said the prosecutor.

“It is a tragic end, and I am not disregarding the victim's families. They have my sympathy and I understand how frustrating this process must be.”

“I'm sure they don't need your sympathy,” said the prosecutor, “they need justice for their lost loved ones.”

The attorney nodded. “Then, what about justice for the defendant's mistreatment?”

Sicheng was feeling increasingly more on edge as time passed.

“Not to mention, the defendant has a diagnosed mental illness which impairs his functioning. His liability is decreased because of that illness.”

“There are plenty of people with Antisocial Personality Disorder who have _not_ killed anybody. He's a killer, you can't deny it,” said the prosecutor.

“There are circumstances which make this far different. He's been absent of treatment for years.”

There was a pause on the prosecutor's behalf. “There are treatment records for him between the years twenty-sixteen and twenty-seventeen. Those were the years he was in there—according to this, he was treated as he was supposed to be.”

“Well,” the attorney turned to Yuta, “do you remember receiving any _actual_ medication?”

“For the first few weeks,” he replied, “but after that, it was just a slap over the head and ‘you're worthless’ or ‘just die already’.”

“The Treatment of Disorders Act was awful until it was revisited in more recent years. There were hardly any regulations, and it gave psychiatric doctors the ability to dictate _everything_ about their patient's life. In retrospect, it should have been effective to allow them to treat them correctly. But nobody checked on them—nobody made sure they were doing their jobs correctly.”

“Because it should have been a given,” the judge added.

“Exactly,” said the attorney, “they were corrupt and abused the patients' vulnerabilities.”

The prosecutor already had a look of defeat. The judge was understanding the defense's case.

“Imagine the fear inside. Everybody you were supposed to trust in your life, they broke that trust and caused you harm. You wouldn't be trusting of anybody anymore, would you? The people wandering into Namhyeon while it was abandoned? They were strangers who were threatening their home.”

Sicheng was feeling optimistic about the outcome, perhaps the judge would sympathize and be lenient.

“But that, once again, doesn't excuse the crimes,” said the prosecutor.

“Defendant,” the judge announced, bringing Yuta's attention back from the public seating and instead to him. “Do _you_ agree with what the attorney is saying? Did you act out of fear and poor reasoning?”

Yuta nodded. “How was I to know they weren't coming to harm us? I have to assume the worst, that's how I'm still alive now.”

“So you admit it was wrong to kill them?”

“Of course. I wouldn't have done it out of satisfaction, would I?”

“That's what you're trying to prove to me,” said the judge, “you confessed to the detective, this is now a matter of liability.”

“Your honor,” the attorney spoke clearly, “I believe, given the circumstances, diminished responsibility is acceptable.”

The judge nodded, “and, what about the prosecution?”

“I still believe he is completely liable. What was left of the victim's bodies showed significant damage.”

“But the defense is accepting that the killings were committed, and the defendant appears to be showing remorse.”

The prosecutor practically glared at Yuta. They were half in disbelief that the judge seemed to _genuinely_ believe that he didn't have an understanding of his actions.

“Any objections or further statements?”

“No, your honor,” the attorney replied.

The prosecutor sighed bitterly. “No, your honor.”

There was a quiet hum of chatter in the courtroom. The judge cleared his throat, and with the impact of the small wooden hammer against the table, everybody fell silent.

“Taking into consideration the evidence and the defense's argument, also acknowledging that the defendant pleaded guilty in our first hearing, I hereby find the defendant, Nakamoto Yuta, guilty of seven counts of voluntary manslaughter!” the judge announced.

The prosecutor sighed, sitting back in their chair. The defense had won, as far as they were concerned.

“Due to the severity and number of crimes, sentencing will occur here and now. First of all, I will summarize the mitigating factors. The presence of a diagnosed mental illness, remorse and the absence of intent to harm at the time of each crime,” said the judge, “because of these factors, the sentence must be reduced, and the defendant's psychiatric condition must be taken into account.”

Sicheng felt like he knew where the sentencing was going. His fists were balled tightly on his lap, waiting in anticipation. Yuta looked nervous. All the former wanted to do was just—rather abnormally, for him—engulf the elder in a hug and tell him everything would be fine.

“It would be illogical to push the knowledge of the disorder aside, so for that reason, rather than the punishment taking place in a prison, it is adequate for the defendant to be admitted to a psychiatric facility which is used to treating convicts. If the psychiatrists decide so, he can spend the latter half of his sentence in a normal prison.”

Yuta looked to the judge with wide eyes. He wasn't quite sure whether he'd rather be in prison or be at risk of being treated the same way as before.

“The sentence, due to the mitigating factors and diminished responsibility... I believe a life sentence of thirty years should suffice with the chance of parole.”

While it was better than a death sentence, Yuta still let out a sigh. While he was relieved he could at least live to see another day, being in hospital or prison until he was in his fifties wasn't exactly appealing.

Sicheng could finally relax. He somehow anticipated that the patient would _actually_ end up being a patient once again. But the elder didn't look so amused.

“That is all. The court is dismissed.”

Yuta looked over to Sicheng as a police officer forced the former to stand. “It looks like we'll meet again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% on law (well, courts), but I've tried my best and have done research so it isn't too far from reality? I guess? But anyway, my specialty lies elsewhere.
> 
> Also I'd like to note that I have Twitter, so if anybody wants to be mutuals (I do actually post about the story, sometimes) then it's drgnyong! I'll follow you all back :)


	50. Good Among Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the fiftieth chapter! Thank you to everybody who is still reading! Here's a (slightly) longer chapter as a thanks!

Mark and Taeyong arrived back at the house, walking hand-in-hand as they made their way to the front door. The former was looking at the patient, smiling as they walked around the corner.

“Mark,” said Sunghoon abruptly, making the teen jump in surprise and tear his hand from the elder's, “can we talk?”

“Is something wrong?” he asked hesitantly.

Sunghoon looked at Taeyong who was looking back at him curiously. Suddenly, Eunjung appeared at the door and signaled for him to follow her. The elder looked back at Mark for confirmation.

“Go on, I'll be in soon.”

The patient consistently looked back as he was walking away, looking worried. The teen simply smiled reassuringly, turning to Sunghoon once they were left alone.”

The older male let out a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. “I know who you are.”

“What?” Mark's eyes widened.

“We might live in the middle of literally nowhere, but we're not completely cut off from the world. We have a radio and we read the newspapers. We've known since we got you back here.”

In a panic, the teen looked around. If things went wrong, he needed to get Taeyong from inside and they'd have to get back on the road again.

“I held off telling you because Eunjung is genuinely concerned about you both, but you've been here for a while now, so we need to have this conversation,” he said, “we won't kick you out, don't worry. But you can't hide here forever. You're on a national watch list right now.”

“But... if you get caught—”

“We're aware, we discussed it,” said Sunghoon, “but we're not heartless, we've heard everything, and we can't just throw you both out there to die.”

Mark was surprised. He thought anybody would hand them over to the police in a heartbeat—wanting to be some kind of distorted savior to the fearful society.

“So, we need to work together to find somewhere for you to go. I've done my research, and I'm under the impression that Taeyong's sister in the medical field, is that correct?”

The teen nodded. “She is.”

“Then we need to get her on board,” he said.

“No need,” Mark replied, “she's already proved trustworthy, we almost got caught but she let us escape. I have her phone number in my bag.”

“Then call her up, we need to make sure it's safe for you two to continue running away from the police. While you're on the run, you can't get any medical care, you can't be careless in public—anything. You have to be cautious.”

Mark made his way inside and Sunghoon followed. Taeyong was sat at the table simply sat watching as Eunjung sat opposite him, reading a book with Willow lying on the ground beside them. The patient turned as the teen scrambled into their temporary room and grabbed his bag. The younger eventually took out the crumpled piece of paper which Taeyong immediately recognized. “Mark?”

“They know,” said the teen, “they know who we are, they're going to help us.”

The patient looked at Eunjung, who simply nodded in assurance. “Don't worry, you can trust us.”

Sunghoon handed Mark a phone and the latter made his way to the table, sitting beside Taeyong. He dialed in the number and pressed the button, holding the old device up to his ear in anticipation. His foot gently tapped against the wooden floorboards nervously. It was all so sudden, he thought they hadn't the slightest idea about who they were, but really, it made sense. You wouldn't let just any stranger into your home, especially if they refused to say much about where they had come from.

_“Hello?”_

Mark was taken by surprise hearing the familiar voice on the other side. “It's me, Mark.”

 _“Finally,”_ Seulgi sighed, _“I was beginning to worry something bad had happened.”_

“We're safe, we're staying with a couple right now.”

_“That's... very risky.”_

“It's alright—” he looked up to see Sunghoon and Eunjung practically staring into his soul, “—they're aware of the situation and we can trust them.”

There was a hum on the other side, _“I'll trust you, Mark. But be careful.”_

“I will,” said the teen.

_“Is that everything? There's quite a lot going in back here right now.”_

“Actually!” he spoke abruptly, “Can you make time to come here and check up on Taeyong?”

_“Is something wrong?”_

“It's just... there's a few things that are worrying us.”

He could hear the sound of pages being turned on the other side, followed by a quiet mumbling. _“I can make time today, but any other time will be difficult.”_

“Today?” asked Mark, looking up and Sunghoon.

“The sooner the better.”

“Today will work.”

_“Great. I'll have to get some things together. Just give me the address and I should get there by mid-afternoon.”_

**~**

After a—rather excited—phone call from Sicheng about Yuta's sentencing, Taeil found himself wandering towards a large building. He paused in his tracks, looking up at the building and noted how similar the architecture was to Namhyeon. He'd thought, given the fact that the aforementioned location was _literally_ crumbling to the ground, that they'd have tried an upgraded, more modern style for the rebuild. But it still looked like something taken right out of a gothic horror novel; towering and eerie. He was sure it wouldn't have surprised him if a gargoyle had jumped out at him to scare him away.

It didn't settle well with him. Daehak Psychiatric Institution, the new and so-called “improved” location which also happened to be the place where Namhyeon's patients were taken, was where Johnny had ended up. He knew the law had changed. It was far more thorough to ensure there was no more of what had happened in Namhyeon before it's closure, as it was the _worst_ location for the treatment—read: abuse and neglect—of patients. Taeil was almost certain that Yuta would also be sent there. There was a designated ward for “dangerous and convicted patients”, after all.

He wandered towards the main entrance and smiled at the young man on the front desk. He looked completely misplaced, as though he should have been somewhere far better than the front desk of a psychiatric center.

“Do you have an appointment, or are you visiting?” he asked brightly.

Taeil could only chuckle slightly. “Visiting. I'd like to see the second ward patient Johnny Suh.”

The man picked up a phone from the desk, presumably to reach the gate staff who controlled who could be allowed in and out of the secure containment area. Taeil found it interesting being in an open location after so long of breathing in an entire building's worth of dust and having to shiver the entire night whenever he stayed over. He didn't know how the patients could withstand it.

“Go ahead, the second ward is on free time, so he is free to be visited.”

Taeil thanked the man before he walked down a hallway. He was eventually met by another man stood by the gate who unlocked it. The space seemed more suited to house lions than humans, with several security mechanisms. He was contained within two fenced spaces, and looking inside, he could see a patient looking back at him, dressed in the typical hospital clothing. They made eye contact for a few moments before he heard the sound of keys colliding beside him.

“Head into one of the visiting rooms and I'll bring the patient to you,” said the man, and Taeil nodded.

Sitting down, he had to let out a sigh. The halls were grim even when almost freshly painted and brightly lit by the natural sunlight pouring through the reinforced windows. Even the newer locations seemed more prison-like than a place to treat and rehabilitate people. He'd learnt to read people pretty well, and the patient that he'd shared momentary eye contact with seemed more sorrowful than anything else. Those soft, gloomy eyes looking back at him seemed to shake his soul.

The door on the other side opened, and once it was closed and locked behind Johnny—alike the other door—the elder gave the patient a look of pity which he could only shake his head at.

“Are you eating fine? Is anybody bothering you? Do you want me to—”

“Calm down,” Johnny asserted, “I'm fine.”

“Are you sure?”

The younger nodded, smiling gently. “Certain. It's not the nicest place but having a warm bed beats the asylum by a long shot.”

“I'm sorry,” Taeil frowned. “If we'd have all moved further away from that place, we could have at least stayed together for a little bit longer.”

“That isn't your fault. Plus, I'm enjoying the peace. There are no bestial dog-people trying to get on my nerves.”

The elder knew he was just trying to make him feel better. It was obvious that Johnny didn't want to be there, and he didn't blame him.

“Speaking of dog-people, what's happened with the mutt?”

“Can you _please_ not call him that?” Taeil chuckled.

“Everybody is loving all of the stories I've been telling them, I'm quite popular on our floor.”

The elder smiled. “Well, Taeyong and Mark are still on the run. We helped them escape and now we're waiting for further contact. But I'm glad you're making friends.”

“I wouldn't call it that,” said Johnny, “but I thought we'd all be locked in rooms all of the time, but we've got a designated area that we can wander around and socialize.”

If they weren't separated by a rather flimsy-looking plastic separator, Taeil would have already hugged the patient. He was beginning to think they should have been more affectionate when they were able to. But it was too late, nobody could have expected what would happen.

“How long do you think It'll be until you can get a job here?” asked the younger.

“A while,” Taeil replied. “Even though we're not far off graduating, I'm not sure if they'll take me straight away. Plus, everybody knows...”

The patient sighed. “This sucks. You better not find somebody else while I'm trapped in here.”

“Trust me, I won't.”

“No cheating!”

“I wouldn't even _dream_ about cheating on you.”

“No flirting either!” Johnny exclaimed.

Chuckling, Taeil nodded. “I know.”

“I'll find out if you do, and I won't be happy.”

**~**

Kun lay on the cold, rough stone floor, his eyes following the gently swinging light hanging from the ceiling. The shouting and usual unrest beyond the cell door was keeping him awake. He completely ignored the incredibly uncomfortable second bunk of the bed against the wall, instead choosing to stay on the ground. He rolled his eyes at the sound of his cellmate snoring loudly and turned over onto his side. The sound felt abnormally loud, drowning out every other little sound in the room and plaguing his ears. Even covering his ears wouldn't help.

He tried to distract himself, thinking about Ten instead. He didn't know if the younger was angry at him or if he was simply surprised. He _did_ know it was quite some information to be told, but he trusted him with it. He kept being torn from his thoughts. Over time, he was beginning to feel the same as he'd felt shortly before the killing. Every small thing was eating away at his mind, irritating him more and more. He could feel his heart's pace quickening and clenched his eyes shut.

Maybe some sleep would help.

There was a cold breeze which travelled through the poorly-lit cell block, one by one attacking each inmate. Unlike everybody else on the block, Kun was far thinner, less muscular and as a result, felt the cold more. Practically everybody else was either a gangster or were some random local “normal guy” who was suddenly arrested for murder—framed or not.

Each noise echoed through the hallway and the sound of the warden's footsteps could occasionally be heard. Kun pushed his hair away from his face, his arms soon crossed close to his body in an attempt to maintain his warmth. He groaned as he heard his cellmate again and clenched his fist. Sub-consciously, he began to hit it against the ground. Each hit bringing him a step closer to the inevitable.

He drew a deep breath. He felt as though his mind was racing, his disorganized thoughts constantly surfacing. After a sudden recollection of how his parents had reacted to his arrest, Kun slammed his fist against the ground. He shakily lifted his hand and moved it so he could see, revealing fresh cuts and leaks of crimson blood, dripping slowly down his balled fist. He heard shuffling behind him and turned. He didn't know why, but he pushed himself up from the ground, leaving some blood among the dust-sheet lining the stone ground.

He stood beside the bed, looking down at his cellmate's sleeping body. He looked at the cell opposite theirs to find both of the inhabitants in what he hoped was a deep sleep. Kun rolled his wrists, slowly inhaling. He was about to wrap his hands around his cellmate's neck when he heard a noise from behind him.

“What are you doing?” asked the warden.

The end of the inmate's lip lifted into a smirk. “Tell me something, do you _really_ want to do this your entire life?”

“Just go to sleep.”

“Don't you want to do something more?” asked Kun, “Make a change in the world?”

“I suppose I wouldn't object,” said the warden, ”and my first action would be to erase people like you from this world.”

The smirk faltered into a grimace and the inmate snickered.

“Now go to sleep, you can't trick me.”

The warden disappeared down the hallway, leaving Kun feeling defeated as he collapsed back onto the ground.

**~**

Ten sighed as he sat leaning on the side of his bed—rather than _on_ it—with his arms shaking as they were leant over his legs. He'd considered doing more than just sitting inside all day, drowning in a pool of his anguish. He didn't want to just live with Hendery and Xiaojun free of charge, he thought they'd get sick of him instantly. Ten slipped his hand, tightly gripping his arm. He could hear movement on the other side of the door, likely Yangyang, as the others had left early in the morning.

While he was glad he'd been accepted into their apartment without a second thought, he felt like a burden. He couldn't help but think he should have just gone to the institution. If people were getting paid to put up with him, he wouldn't have felt bad about acting the way he always did. Most people in his high school who had ever communicated with him more than once had said that he “thought too much” and he'd sometimes ignore them. It was an accident. He didn't _mean_ to. Sometimes he'd just get trapped in his mind, over-thinking every little word or gesture that he observed.

He pushed people away often, too. He was scared to get to know people out of fear of judgment, torment and abandonment. He didn't know why he got so hung up over the past. He'd always thought about how—in comparison to everybody else who lived in the asylum—he didn't have it so tough. He kept to himself, feeling bad about how he felt. Kun had become his only vent, but now, he was all alone.

He didn't have any particularly tragic stories, and he certainly didn't have any to share with every passerby. There was no abuse and, arguably, no neglect. His only _true_ fear, one enough to submerge his entire being into a deep-written panic, was abandonment. Ten was raised by his aunt and uncle. He didn't have the slightest idea of who his father was, but he remembered his mother telling him that he wasn't worth knowing. He didn't like to bring up the topic because he knew she didn't like to talk about it. He never got an exact reason, but he assumed his father had done something, and that was why he didn't know him.

His mother was fairly young when he was born, which, in a way, added to his suspicions. He'd had one or two thoughts about how he was potentially unwanted, maybe he was a product of something dark, even when he was far younger. His mother had finally gotten sick of him just before he finished elementary. It never angered him, he thought maybe it was for the best. His aunt and uncle cared for him like their own.

Of course, when it first happened, he was distraught. But he was only sad, not angry. His classmates laughed at him when he started crying several times throughout the day. It was always the same. In middle school, they joked about how his aunt came in whenever parents were invited. They called him unwanted, and he certainly felt like that was the case. It got better in high school, though. Some people taunted him, but most were indifferent.

He only made his first _real_ friend when he managed to get into a decent university after graduation, as, since nobody really invited him anywhere, he had plenty of time to study. He met Kun in his first year of university when the elder was in his second year. Ten didn't actually last long in university. He attended for a year, but when his aunt passed away, his mental health deteriorated even more. He didn't put much thought into it, he just dropped out. He refused to meet Kun for the longest time afterwards, but eventually, he found himself in another situation.

He had to move out of the house he'd gotten used to over all of those years as his uncle moved across the country. Originally, he managed to get an apartment working a few part-time jobs, but he couldn't afford to do that long term. Kun _eventually_ managed to get through to him. Ten moved in with him, and they ended up becoming a couple the same year, which also happened to be the year Johnny introduced Taeil to the others in the asylum. Ten moved into the asylum simply because he felt like living with Kun would make them more likely to argue.

He heard a gentle knock on the door and rested his head against the bed. He felt a tear trickle down his face and wiped it away as the door opened, revealing Yangyang on the other side. The younger nervously walked over and sat in front of Ten.

“What?” asked the elder, trying to swallow back his tears.

As he clenched his eyes shut, he heard pencil on paper, followed by a tap on his leg as the sound subsided. He opened his eyes to see Yangyang holding up his notebook with _“are you okay?”_ scribbled across a blank page.

Ten smiled through his urges to burst into tears and nodded. The younger began to write again, tightly gripping the paper as he looked up from it, checking on Ten.

_“You're lying.”_

The elder clenched his jaw, breathing in. Feeling a tear, he nodded gently. Yangyang immediately placed the notebook on the ground and hugged him.

**~**

Mark was almost falling asleep when there was a knock on the door. Taeyong sat beside him, far more alert and stroking Willow who had her head on his lap. Sunghoon opened the door. “You must be Seulgi.”

The teen lifted his head, hearing talking. The door was closed behind Seulgi, who walked towards her brother.

“What's happened?”

Mark sat up, rubbing his eyes as the patient looked at him. “There are a few potentially concerning things that have appeared suddenly.”

“I've tried to figure something out,” said Eunjung, “but I think this goes past my knowledge.”

“Give me everything you're worried about and I'll write everything down. If nothing comes to mind now, I'll ask my roommate for help.”

The teen tried to recall everything that had happened. “Well, he's been shaking since the day you let us escape from the detective.”

“Shaking?” asked Seulgi, “Like, a tremor?”

Mark nodded, and she reached out for Taeyong's hand. He hesitantly lifted it and met her halfway. She set her paper aside, placing her other hand on top of her brother's hand and nodded.

“He's struggled to walk without losing balance at least once or twice.”

Seulgi looked up, placing her pen down. “Before I write anything, is there anything else?”

“Do you think you know what it is?” asked Mark cautiously.

“I can't just tell you what I think,” she said, “especially if you're already worried.”

“Is it bad?” asked Taeyong.

“Just—” Seulgi sighed, “—continue, Mark.”

“While we were walking around after you let us go, he collapsed. But that was probably something else.”

“Specifics, please.”

Mark was beginning to worry, it was obvious something was bothering Seulgi. “You said your vision went blurry, right?”

The elder nodded.

“Is that still bothering you?”

“Not really—”

Upon making eye contact with his sister, Taeyong sighed. He knew that answer wouldn't be good enough for her. He raised his left hand.

“This side is a little bit weird. It has been I was in the hospital.”

“You didn't tell me that,” Mark noted.

“I didn't think it was very important.”

“Well, is there anything else you've been keeping from him?” asked Seulgi, to which he shook his head. “What about your general state? Have you been quite tired?”

“Since the hospital, again.”

Mark watched Seulgi's expression carefully as she looked down at the notebook in her hand. She soon turned to Sunghoon and Eunjung. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure,” the latter replied, “we can go into the kitchen.”

“No listening in,” Seulgi warned.

The teen nodded, but he didn't like not knowing what was going on. When the door closed, he quietly walked over to it, closely holding his ear to it.

“What are you—”

He held his finger over his mouth, prompting the elder to be quiet. He was struggling to hear, merely because of how quiet they were being. After some long moments of only hearing muffled talking, Mark sighed. Taeyong was watching him quietly. The teen held his breath in an attempt to hear better and soon, his eyes widened.

“Neurological?” he muttered quietly.

“What is—”

He signaled for the elder to be quiet and rushed back over to his seat, hearing movement on the other side of the door.

When the door opened, Seulgi looked over to where they were sat and looked at the teen suspiciously. “Mark.”

“Yes?” he asked, making Taeyong laugh quietly.

“I have to leave, for now, but I'll be coming back in the next few days with my roommate.”

“What if—”

“He won't. He's a doctor, he's got to keep it confidential. Well, _this_ circumstance doesn't exactly fall under that, but he won't tell anybody.”

Taeyong looked over to Seulgi nervously. “Am I going to die?”

“No. You won't die,” she replied, “I mean it, you won't.”

“Then why can't you tell me what is wrong with me?”

“Because I'm not one-hundred percent certain. I can't diagnose anything, and since you're technically a fugitive, we can't take you to the hospital. So we'll bring a doctor to you.”

He didn't look convinced, and Mark wasn't so sure either.

“I won't lie to you,” said Seulgi, “trust me, you won't die anytime soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any idea of what's going on with Taeyong? Or just any other thoughts? I enjoy reading everybody's comments! :)


	51. Born To Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The trigger warning list has been updated (check chapter one!), if anybody has any triggers, please refer to the list. To note: it is updated as the story develops._

When Seulgi arrived back at her shared apartment, she was unsurprised to see her roommate sat on the couch with a book opened on his lap. However, he wasn't reading it, as he _also_ had his phone out and was paying far more attention to that.

"Where did you disappear to this morning?" he asked.

"It's a long story," she sighed, pouring a glass of water.

Her roommate put his phone and book away and turned around on the couch with his legs crossed so he was leaning against the armrest. "I have plenty of time."

"Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I don't work on weekends," he replied, "I haven't since we moved in together."

Seulgi sighed, sitting beside him. She placed her glass on the table and hesitantly looked at him. "Baekhyun."

"That's my name," he joked. "Is something wrong? You look torn."

"If I tell you something huge, promise you won't freak out."

"Now you're worrying me."

"Promise me, I mean it. You can't tell anybody. Tell me how stupid I am and that I'm risking everything, but don't tell anybody."

Baekhyun inhaled. "I promise. When have I ever broken a promise? We've been friends for _years,_ I'm not going to betray your trust."

"Do you remember my brother that I told you about?"

"Your father's son? You haven't mentioned him much."

"Well, he isn't dead."

"What? How can somebody just—"

"My brother is the 'killer' that's on the run," she said quickly, refusing to look at her friend as she talked.

He gawked at her, his eyes wide. "What? That's why the police have been hanging around this building?"

"Yes," she sighed, "but I've been careful—"

"Wait," said Baekhyun, "you haven't been meeting him have you?"

She nodded and he buried his face in his hands.

"You _are_ stupid."

"But that's not my problem," she added.

"There's more?"

"You have to help me, please Baek," Seulgi practically begged. "I visited him today, and he's showing symptoms of a neurological disorder."

"But that's not my field—"

She nodded. "I know, but you've had patients with neurological disorders before haven't you? Plus, I know it was covered in university."

"Briefly. It's a whole other section. Far more studying involved, too. It's complex, all I do is talk to people and _send_ them to specialists if they need them. But yes, I have had patients with neurological disorders before."

"Perfect," she said, "then you know what you're looking for."

"But I'm not confident with—"

"It's only so we can get a better understanding of what to expect from the future."

Baekhyun sighed. "If it _is_ something neurological, then expect gradual worsening. Depending on what exactly is wrong."

"So far, it seems to be coordination and vision that are causing the most problems."

"Well, that would be ataxia. But that is more of a symptom than an actual disorder."

"I'm worried, though," said Seulgi.

"Do you think it's something serious?"

She nodded, looking down. "I'm worried about it getting worse. What if he has to hand himself over just so he can get treatment?"

"If he's ill, they'll focus on treating him rather than incriminating him. I think, anyway."

"His mother was quite weak too, now that I think about it."

"I think I might have a book or two, but don't worry too much. I'm sure he'll be fine."

**~**

Taeil hadn't expected to be as involved in the process of attempting to capture Taeyong and Mark, but when he received a call from Detective Kim asking him to visit the station to talk to the chief. There had been a change in plan and he had directly requested that he attended. Walking into the station, Taeil felt officers and even suspects staring in his direction. He seemed to have become quite the celebrity around the city, and he _hated_ it. If he was to be considered a celebrity, he'd certainly be the most despised due to his involvement with the patients.

He looked around and his eyes landed on Detective Kim who was stood past a crowd of people. As he walked towards him, he also saw a bearded middle-aged man stood beside him, who he immediately assumed was the chief. They seemed to realize his presence and approached him.

"Moon Taeil?" asked the man, "It's great to finally meet you."

Taeil simply forced a smile. From what he had heard, the chief was _not_ good news at all.

"Let's go somewhere else, there are far too many people out here."

He followed them into the office, taking a seat alongside Detective Kim as the chief sat opposite them. Taeil and the detective made eye contact for a moment, both nervous as to what they were about to be told.

"Let's not waste any time," he began, "there are some new rules."

"Which are?" Detective Kim questioned.

"It has been decided that apprehending the escapee and the child he has on tow is our utmost priority. We don't know if the child is being tricked or if he's in danger. Trained individuals have been permitted to use whatever means necessary to ensure the public is safe."

Taeil had to force himself to not argue about Taeyong being more of a hazard to himself than he was to Mark, by a long shot.

"And what you exactly do you mean by that?"

The chief chuckled. "Selected officers in the surrounding area have been given firearms to use if they require them. That being said, they're on strict orders to _not_ kill him."

"And after capture?"

"There have been members of the public who are actually sympathizing with Lee Taeyong. They're petitioning for him to be acquitted of his crimes and to be handed over to a psychiatrist who will be strictly monitored to ensure his safety. They're accusing the government of 'failing him' and responding inappropriately. This will be taken into account."

Detective Kim turned to Taeil. Neither of them was expecting that.

"That being said, an acquittal is tough. It's more likely that he'll get a reduced sentence and serve it in a hospital rather than in prison," said the chief, sounding rather disappointed.

"That's great news," Detective Kim sighed, "that's far better than before."

"Don't celebrate too quickly, it could still be decided that he'll receive a severe punishment."

Taeil sighed. "He's hardly deserving of any punishment, especially a severe one."

**~**

Mark's head was threatening to collide with the desk as his eyelids closed. He'd only just learned that Sunghoon and Eunjung had a laptop, which surprised him given their only TV looked like it had existed during the war. They'd allowed him to use it, so he did while Taeyong was in the bath. He hadn't realized just how tired he was as the sun was already far gone over the horizon. He woke up as the door opened, his head jerking up from where it was. He looked over to the door to see the patient with a towel over his head. He practically clung onto the door handle, carefully stepping towards the bed.

Mark looked at the screen to see what he'd been reading on a medical website and closed the screen before the elder saw. He walked over, sitting beside Taeyong as the latter dried his hair with the towel.

"Were you okay?" he asked quietly.

The elder looked at him and nodded. "I'm fine."

The patient jumped slightly in surprise when Mark suddenly grabbed one of his hands and intertwined their fingers.

"You're acting weird again."

"Am I?"

"You're tired, I saw you falling asleep. Go to sleep."

The teen frowned but shuffled back and lay down. He gently patted the space beside him and Taeyong chuckled. The patient followed, resting his head on the younger as Mark wrapped his arm around him.

"Is there anything you want to do?" asked the teen.

The elder furrowed his eyebrows. "Like what?"

"I just mean... is there anything else you want to do? We went out in the woods, but is there anywhere else you'd like to visit?"

Taeyong felt uneasy. Sure, he wanted to do a few things, but he didn't like how it sounded like Mark was all of a sudden rushing to do things, as though if they didn't manage, they'd never be able to do it at all.

"I just want to be with you, that's all" he replied.

"Nothing else?"

The patient nodded, humming. "What's the urgency? I thought we agreed nobody would separate us?"

"We did," said Mark, "nobody will."

"Then we don't need to rush."

"But... we've got quite a bit of spare time these days—"

"You think I'm going to die, don't you?"

The room fell silent. Mark stopped himself from talking, letting out a gentle sigh. Instead, he hugged Taeyong tighter and closed his eyes.

The elder looked down. He wanted the teen to reassure him that they'd live a long life together, but the silence on the younger's behalf disheartened him. "You do."

"No, I don't. Really."

"You should sleep," said Taeyong, attempting to shuffle away from him.

"You'll be alright, you're strong."

"So everybody keeps telling me." said the elder, "But what if you're wrong? I'm not strong. Treatment could kill me and everybody wants me dead anyway."

Mark tried to get the elder to face him, only for the patient to refuse to comply once again. "We don't need everybody else, we'll manage."

Taeyong pulled the younger's arm from around him. The teen simply let go. If he wanted space, he'd give him it. There was little point in arguing. The elder shuffled to the end of the bed, facing away from Mark. The latter sighed—also turning away—and closed his eyes to try and sleep.

The night seemed long. It was passing exceptionally slowly. Far later into the night, Mark was still awake and looked at the clock. He still had plenty of time to try and get to sleep, but he just _couldn't._ He was worried, and it was taking its toll. He was dreading the day when Seulgi returned; he didn't want Taeyong to be further daunted by whatever his sister's roommate had to say. He was already fearing the worst of outcomes would become a reality.

Mark didn't _exactly_ think the patient was going to die, but he wasn't prepared to act like everything was normal. He didn't want to regret how they had spent their time together. He knew it wasn't logical to look on the internet to get an understanding of what was happening as it would just worry him further, but he did it nonetheless. Neurological conditions didn't always risk death, but it was still a concern.

The teen heard movement and was about to turn around when he felt Taeyong's presence behind him. He turned to look behind him to see the elder lying behind him almost tucked up into a ball as he rested his head closely behind the younger's back. Mark carefully turned around so he was facing the patient and saw the latter's eyes open slightly. He never moved away, he just lay there indifferently.

He gently kissed the elder's head, glad that Taeyong _didn't_ hold grudges at all. He couldn't even stay angry at him for long, he'd been so worn out by his hatred in the past that he didn't feel the need to feel that way anymore. Mark hated to think about it, but maybe they were doomed right from the beginning. There seemed to be a domino effect of negativity and suffering in both of their lives, every small misfortune built into something far larger.

If they were already nearing their end, Mark knew what he'd have to do. He felt as though he and Taeyong only had each other. Sure, they could trust a few people in their lives, but they depended on each other in their daily lives. He didn't want to be separated from the elder ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, but the next chapter, and something special which I'm planning right now, should be longer. I'm trying to push myself to write longer chapters (there was a time when I wrote ~500 words in a chapter and that was TERRIBLE.) I'm aiming for 2500-3000 words per chapter now!


	52. The Darkness Of Reality

Kun had not long finished eating his portion of what he could _hardly_ call food as given to him by a warden when he was permitted to get some exercise. After walking around for a while in the outdoor yard, he sat down against the cell block building's wall and simply watched people as they moved around. Some were partaking in sports and others—much like him—simply observed. The wardens wandered around at their own pace, sticking their noses in people's business and annoying the life out of everyone.

Hearing footsteps growing near, Kun turned towards the sound. Any residue of joy completely disappeared upon seeing two familiar males walking towards him. "What do you want?"

"Look at this dirt on the path," one of them snickered, crouching down to pester the other prisoner. "I'm surprised they didn't transfer you somewhere else after that little lesson we taught you."

"You seem to be healing nicely."

Kun's lip raised slightly on one side and he looked down at his hands. The two other prisoners just watched him, hatred written in their expressions as he began to laugh quietly. They made eye contact with each other and the first stood up, swinging his leg towards Kun's face. He shielded himself just before he felt the impact, followed by whistling in the distance. The first prisoner grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him over.

"You piece of shit!"

Kun looked to the side, seeing a warden running in their direction. He grinned, propping himself up on his arms. "Do you want to be the next? Should I kill you too? Or, what about your entire family? Should I turn your house into a bloodbath and bury every single one of your kin in a nice old building's yard?"

Unsurprised when he received a punch to the face, Kun lay down on the ground as the other prisoner clenched the fabric of his shirt in his hands. The warden seemed to hesitate on his way over, and before they knew it, people began to crowd like they were some kind of show. The other prisoner gritted his teeth, holding his arm mid-air in hesitation to punch him again.

"If you hate me, kill me," said Kun, wiping away some blood that had escaped from his nose. "Before I can kill you."

"You crazy bastard!"

"Hurry, they're coming," said the other prisoner, tapping his friend's arm.

The other looked up and sighed. He pushed Kun down onto the ground and cursed at him, taking his hands away as he stood up. The warden roughly grabbed him, pulling him away from the prisoner.

Kun didn't bother moving for a few moments. With blood running down his face, he stayed staring at the sky. The tall barbed-wire fence obstructed part of his vision, but it was better than nothing. He watched birds fly overhead, and hearing people talking around him, he pulled himself up from the ground.

As he was wiping the blood from his face, a shadow was cast over him. Somebody was blocking his light. Kun looked up, the back of his hand smothered in blood and further escape of the crimson substance still dripping down his face.

“Qian Kun,” spoke a deep voice, “you're quite the magnet to conflict.”

The prisoner looked up, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Next to a warden stood a man in a white doctor's coat, looking down at him on the ground with a slight grin. Kun sat up and the man crouched down to his level, maintaining uneasy eye contact. The man smiled, sitting silently for a few moments.

“I'd like to investigate some things with you.”

“Investigate? With me?” asked Kun, “I'm not quite sure if you mean that. It's more like: ‘I want to investigate _you_.’”

“It isn't exactly that, either.”

Kun chuckled. “Well, surprise me.”

The man held his hand out, waiting until the prisoner grabbed onto it and pulled him up, trying to ignore the blood all over his hands. Kun followed the man, accompanied by a warden until they were eventually let inside. Rather than walking to a cell block, the man walked another way and opened a door into a small room. The prisoner hadn't even realized that they were being tailed until both of his arms were grabbed and he was pushed into the room. He was forced onto a chair and both of his arms attached to it with handcuffs.

“Surprise,” the man joked, “we have some talking to do.”

Kun scowled, tugging at the metal. He let out a sigh and turned to face the man.

“My name is Dr Jang,” he introduced, “I've worked with Lee Taeyong and Jung Jaehyun, and now I've been told to deal with you. But you're on another level to both of them.”

“Oh, I know,” the prisoner grinned.

“You're far easier to deal with, actually.”

Kun raised an eyebrow in confusion, expecting the doctor to struggle with him.

“You didn't kill that man for the sake of killing him, did you? Now, I'm not a detective but I _am_ in contact with Detective Ahn. He found video footage which shows the victim harassing a woman on the streets before you dragged him away and murdered him.”

“What's your point?”

“The detective assured me you don't have any trauma. You lived a normal life, no past offences. Your parents are both squeaky clean, rich and there's not a single flaw in your family. You're smart. You even could have gotten away with murder if the patients hadn't told the detective, it looked like you simply saved somebody and went along with your life. The man was always on the move, nobody would have noticed.”

Kun sat listening carefully, he still didn't quite get what the doctor was getting at.

“Your motivation... On the surface, it seems like you're trying to play hero, but that isn't the case. You're opportunistic. You saw a chance to strike and have a chance at only having a short sentence. But I'm no fool, I've worked with killers before,” he said, “so, what was it? Curiosity? For the thrill?”

“You're a psychiatrist, not a detective. It isn't your job to extort information from me.”

“A little bit of both? This is _also_ helpful for me. I need to stop you from killing again. It's already evident that you'll be sentenced to no more than life. Detective Ahn agrees. But you'll be stuck in a ward. Probably for the rest of your life,” said Dr Jang, “that's quite a role reversal, isn't it?”

**~**

Taeyong opened his eyes fairly early, hearing movement outside. As he slowly began to recognize his surroundings, he looked around and turned to see Mark almost right behind him. He could feel the younger's warm hand resting gently on his waist. He couldn't tell whether the teen was awake or not, but when the latter's hand moved slightly and he felt him move behind him, he had his answer.

“You're awake?” asked the younger quietly.

The patient nodded and hummed upon realizing Mark probably couldn't see. Taeyong turned around to see the teen smiling softly at him. He chuckled, “what?”

“Even in the morning, you're perfect,” he replied, “I love you _so_ much you don't even realize.”

The elder could only laugh; Mark's unwavering serious expression only made it more amusing for him.

“You don't love me back?”

“Of course I do,” Taeyong chuckled, “I want to spend my entire life with you.”

Lying on his back, the teen smiled as the elder placed his face in his hands and looked at him from beside him. Mark reached out and ruffled the patient's hair before pushing it aside. “How about some nice peace today?”

“We have peace _every_ day now. But yes, that would be nice.”

“Come here then,” said the younger, allowing Taeyong to lie beside him, resting his head on Mark's chest and hugging him.

The younger exhaled gently. He wished they could get away with lying together all day, without any worries. But in the back of his mind, he was still fearing what was going to happen next. He couldn't think of much else he'd rather do than absolutely nothing.

“Mark... can I ask you something?”

The teen looked up, opening his eyes. He hummed.

“If something does happen, and I'm not the same person that I am now...” he began, but paused in hesitation, “will you stay by my side?”

“What do you mean? You'll always be the same deep down.”

“But if I can't do as much as I can now—”

“I'll adapt. If you need help or if you have to change how you live, I'll adapt. I won't leave you. I promise.”

“But what if I can't move around anymore? We can't go wherever we want to. We might get caught—”

Instead of assuring him any longer, Mark pulled Taeyong's chin up and connected their lips. The elder's eyes widened, but the surprise soon faded. He inched closer to the teen, leaning further into the kiss. The younger pulled away from the kiss, leaving a feeling of emptiness which resided in the patient.

“I mean it, I'll never leave you. Wherever we go, we go together, okay?”

Taeyong nodded gently. He moved closer, and their lips joined once again. Somewhat relieved that the elder instigated the kiss that time around, Mark's hand slipped from the former's chin and he instead wrapped his arms around the patient. They refused to stop kissing as though they'd lose each other if they did, and the younger deepened the kiss, pushing himself up from the bed. Taeyong had to pull away to breathe but wasted no time before he collided with the younger's lips once again.

Mark removed one of his arms from around the elder and held onto his shoulder, moving from where he was to instead have Taeyong lying down. He felt the patient shudder as his hand firmly grabbed onto his side. The younger's lips were torn away, only for them to quickly collide with Taeyong's neck. The latter's breath hitched and he gripped onto the cloth of the teen's shirt. His mind completely stripped of all reasoning, Mark's hand slipped further down the elder's body.

Taeyong's jaw was quickly clenched shut and he held his breath, but his state eased when he heard a knock on the door. He let out a sigh of relief as the teen sat up.

“Are you both awake?”

Hearing Seulgi's voice on the other side of the door, Mark quickly turned to look at Taeyong.

“One moment!”

_Oh no._

“Quickly!” the younger muttered, “Put this on.”

The teen hurried to get a hoodie from the back of the chair, making the elder furrow his eyebrows. “Why?”

“Your neck.”

Taeyong made a huff in realization and sat up. He was more concerned that his sister was stood outside of the door a little while before, as that would _incredibly_ awkward for everybody. He was trying to stay as quiet as he possibly could but was yet to master the art and doubted he ever would. He didinsist to Mark that _events_ of a week earlier in the small hotel wouldn't happen again, or, at least not in the near future—which he accepted, of course—but in the heat of the moment, he had forgotten and was sure that the teen did too.

When Taeyong managed to pull Mark's hoodie over his head, he moved over to the end of the bed to make his way over to the door. The younger seemed almost panicked, making the patient furrow his eyebrows.

“Are you okay?”

“I didn't expect them to come so soon,” he replied, “I'm fine.”

Mark was certainly glad that Taeyong couldn't deduct _why_ he was acting that way. He sighed and shuffled where he was standing, hoping that they wouldn't be held up by the elder's sister and her roommate for very long.

Once the patient stood up and managed to make his way over to the door fairly steadily, Mark opened it and let the elder walk out first. Taeyong stumbled a little as he walked out, but the teen immediately got his arm to stop him from struggling any further.

Mark looked at the man beside Seulgi as he stepped away from where Taeyong was sat. The latter looked around, and his sister seemed to realize who he was searching for.

“It's just us, they've taken the dog for a walk.”

“Willow,” he corrected quietly.

Seulgi smiled, “yes.”

She turned to Baekhyun, who was in awe. He knew of the stories, but he was never really somebody who believed in such things. He thought it was a scaremongering tactic to keep people out of the Namhyeon, which—evidently—didn't work. He noticed her gaze and cleared his throat, walking over to Taeyong.

“I'm Baekhyun, your sister's roommate.”

He held his hand out, and the patient merely looked at it. He hesitantly lifted his hand and shook his new acquaintance's hand. The latter turned back to Seulgi again.

“I see what you meant,” he said, “you can feel the tremor, but it isn't _too_ bad.”

Baekhyun took his bag from his back and sat beside Taeyong. He unzipped the bag and placed it aside, turning to look at his roommate's brother.

“I suppose we should start, is that okay? I'm going to test a few things. I'll start with testing your vision, okay?”

The patient simply nodded in response. He didn't exactly know what to expect but gathered it wouldn't be anything too tough.

“Close your left eye—”

“I hate to interrupt, but you'll need to be clearer than that,” said Seulgi, “try to keep it simple.”

Taeyong couldn't help but feel like everyone was belittling his understanding of words, also assuming he didn't know what people were meaning. Well, in the case of directions, he certainly _didn't_ understand, but it was still somewhat insulting. After being pointed to the correct side, he closed his eye anyway.

“I'm going to move my finger in front of your closed eye, and I want you to tell me when you can see it. But, before we start, you said one eye, in particular, is bothering you?”

“The closed one,” Taeyong replied.

Baekhyun nodded. “Alright, that's fine. I'll check both anyway. Let's start now. Look forward to me.”

First, it was fine. The patient seemed to see his finger fairly quickly. His right eye, if anything, seemed perfect if not even better. But that wasn't the case when they switched eyes. Moving his finger in front of his face once again, the elder was concerned about how long it was taking for the patient to say that he could see it. When he eventually did, Baekhyun looked at Seulgi, concerned.

“And you've had this problem with your eye for how long?” he asked, turning back around.

“Since I woke up in the hospital. I thought it would solve itself after a while.”

“He was in for an overdose,” Seulgi added, “it was quite serious.”

Baekhyun sighed. “You should never wait. Especially when you were already in the hospital, you should have told your doctor.”

“What is it?” asked Mark.

“Partial blindness. I doubt the overdose had anything to do with this, though. It was probably whatever else he has going on right now.”

“And what about the possibility of him going completely blind?” asked Seulgi nervously.

“It depends. Let me figure out what we're dealing with first,” he said, “I have a good idea of what is going on, but as this isn't my specialty, you'll have to bear with me.”

Mark was worried—which didn't help as he was already feeling rather uncomfortable—and simply watching as quietly as he could from the sideline.

Baekhyun stood up. “I'd like to try a few more things, this shouldn't take too long.”

**~**

“Suspicious movements?” Taeil looked up from where he was sat beside Detective Kim's desk, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Seulgi and her roommate were being followed, but the officers lost them somewhere out in the forest between where we've last seen them and Uiwang.”

The younger sat back in his seat, “you know, now that I think about it, she did tell Mark to call her.”

“That's important information, you're supposed to share it with me.”

“I forgot,” he replied, “Honestly. Do you know how much is going on in my life right now? At this rate, I'll fail my final examination and will have to re-do the entire course.”

“Has Seulgi contacted you?”

“Not since the hotel endeavor.”

Detective Kim sighed. “We need her to at least update us, even if we're trying to stay out of their business until we have a plan.”

“But... why her roommate? Why has she taken him?” asked Taeil.

“I don't know. Perhaps he accidentally found out and took an interest in what was happening. It could be anything.”

“Or even worse...” the younger muttered, “I think he's a doctor, what if—”

“That's a possibility. If he's fallen ill, we'll have to rethink everything.”

Taeil thought for a moment and reached into his pocket. “I'm going to call her.”

“She probably won't answer if she _is_ with Taeyong and Mark.”

Detective Kim waited as the phone rung. The silence in the room was a nice change, as they'd been rushing around far more than they should have been. It turned out that it was far harder to track down Taeyong and Mark than literally _any_ other missing people. When the call was picked up, Taeil sent a look of surprise over to the detective.

“Seulgi? What's going on?” he asked, “You're lucky—the police were tailing you, but they lost you. Where are you?”

_“Where do you think? In the middle of nowhere. But it's good that you called, actually.”_

“Why? Has something happened?”

Detective Kim sat up. He was half expected that something was important.

_“There have been a few changes in Taeyong's state. He's been hiding some things from everybody and there have been new developments.”_

_“_ What is it?”

_“Do you want the short answer or the long one?”_

“Short, for now.”

 _“Don't count on this one-hundred percent, obviously, we're quite limited in equipment and we can't take him to hospital,”_ Seulgi began, pausing hesitantly. _“It's extremely possible that Taeyong has progressive multiple sclerosis.”_

**~**

“It's... what?” asked Mark.

Taeyong looked at the teen, more worried about the fact that he was _also_ worried rather than the information that Baekhyun was giving them.

“It's neurological like we initially suspected. Considering it's been a few weeks since he first noticed the symptoms, it is likely progressive rather than relapsing.”

“Wait,” said the teen, “I don't know what half of what means.”

“It will get gradually worse. So to answer Seulgi's earlier question, he may go completely blind.”

Taeyong's eyes widened. “Why?”

“Well, it's down to your nerves. I won't go into detail, but all of those symptoms will be down to your nervous system.”

“What now?” asked Seulgi.

“Giving his situation, I don't know. That's certainly not my field and I don't know what could be done to help him. He'll be able to live fairly normally, I know that much.”

Mark just wanted to engulf Taeyong in a hug. He could tell the latter was more confused than anything else. He looked down at the ground, uncertain.

“The best thing you could do now is get professional help from somebody who knows more about neurological conditions. But, that isn't really an option. If you continue like this and eventually get back on the road again, all I can say is to take it slowly. Don't stress yourself out too much and be careful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The (sort of) big revelation! I'm actually surprised nobody guessed, but I suppose most people who read this are more interested in mental health rather than primarily physical (MS does also have psychological affects and just a range of affects in general).


	53. Clouded Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Potentially triggering content—read at your own discretion. I will warn with a * simply because this is more likely to trigger somebody.**   
>  _Specifically, in the third section (of four)._

Mark found himself still awake far after midnight. While Taeyong was sleeping on the bed wrapped up in the covers, he was sat at the desk using the laptop again. He'd been researching what Baekhyun had concluded was wrong with the patient. He wanted to be prepared, and much to his relief, the condition didn't directly cause fatalities. The thought that Taeyong could later develop further symptoms which would decrease his quality of life was eating away at the teen's mind. He didn't want him to suffer.

Mark began to single out small things that had presented themselves in the elder's behavior which he otherwise wouldn't have linked, such as his new struggle with words which had first shown itself when they were out in the forest. There was so much to the condition that he was feeling somewhat overwhelmed. He gathered Taeyong was hiding his fear, he always seemed to try his best to shield any weakness, and Mark figured that was down to old habits. He felt the need to hide weakness as a mechanism for survival.

Turning on the chair, the teen looked at how the elder was sleeping peacefully. Mark wished it was all one big misunderstanding and that there was _nothing_ to worry about. But the more he thought, the more it made sense. He wanted to block out all his invasive thoughts and focus simply on Taeyong, possibly come up with some sort of plan. He felt trapped by his thoughts and feelings, cornered and forced to acknowledge the things he wanted to push away from his mind.

It was horrible to think about what would happen later on, but he knew it was possible that Taeyong would be in a lot of pain further down the line. Mark had always struggled to infiltrate the elder's thoughts—he'd hardly ever _shown_ how he felt—but he was worried that things might just get a little worse up there, too. Maybe there would be a new problem. He didn't know.

He sat back, resting his head on the back of the chair. Letting out a gentle sigh, he closed his eyes, not wanting to disturb Taeyong's rest by getting into bed so late. He could hear the rain pattering on the roof, a noisy albeit rather soothing sound. The gentle wind outside and the light from the moon was attacking the window, but Mark couldn't help but think about how being out in the woods, despite being quite frightening at times, was far better than when he had to worry about school.

But one thing that he did miss was going out with his friends. He was sure Doyoung and Jungwoo were worried, and Lucas probably was too, potentially feeling bad about their last interaction. Maybe even his parents were worried. Perhaps they didn't mean to act the way they did, but even if that was the case, his father, in particular, made him feel horrible for being who he is. But Mark didn't have the hatred in him to even still be angry. He was more disheartened and genuinely concerned that his father would pose a threat to him and Taeyong.

The teen sat back up again to close the laptop and turned towards the bed. As carefully and quietly as he could, Mark crept over to the side where Taeyong was sleeping. The lamp was still on beside him, but before turning it off, the younger gently kissed his sleeping boyfriend's forehead. He pushed the black hair away from his eyes and smiled. “We'll get through this together. Everything will be fine,” he spoke quietly.

He turned off the lamp and returned to the desk, resting his head down on his crossed arms. He was sure it wouldn't be the most comfortable place to sleep, but waking Taeyong was the last thing he wanted to do. Mark pondered just what was going to happen next as he drifted off to sleep.

**~**

"Are you being serious?"

Yuta turned around as he was walking into the ward he was placed in upon hearing a familiar voice that he did _not_ want to hear. Johnny.

"Who next? Kun? Mutt?"

"What are you doing here?" Yuta spat.

"How does this make any sense? You're a _murderer_! Why are you in the same ward as me?"

The younger scoffed. "What happened to you being 'popular'? Taeil told me you were making friends in here. Do friends give each other burst lips now? Is that something we missed as the times changed?"

Johnny looked down, gently placing his finger on his lip.

"Wait," said Yuta, "don't tell me... you lied to Taeil?"

"This was an accident!"

"Accident my ass," the younger muttered, "people are bothering you?"

"It's none of your business."

Yuta looked around to see people looking in their direction. He looked back to Johnny, but the person who was escorting him to his room pulled him along. He was surprised. Usually, the elder took no disrespect from anybody. But it seemed like even he fell victim to people's antics.

**~**

*****

Xiaojun made his way into the kitchen. After finding Ten's room empty, he expected that the elder could have been making himself something to eat or drink, but when he walked through the door and found it empty, he let out a sigh. Looking at his watch, he peered back into the living room. He needed to take Ten to see Kun, as his court date had been decided and it could have possibly been the last chance he'd get before the court hearing.

Catching a quick glimpse of a piece of paper on top of the cupboard, Xiaojun hurried over to see a poorly written note.

_“I'm sorry, I've been thinking for a while, and I think it's better if I go my own way now. I don't want to invade your lives and add more pressure._

_— Ten”_

“Yangyang!” he shouted, making the younger jump as he sat in the other room.

He placed the paper back down and hurried out of the kitchen. The aforementioned turned around.

“Have you seen Ten?”

Yangyang began to shake his head but paused. He pointed to the door and held up five fingers.

“Five hours? Minutes?”

He held up a further two and Xiaojun hurried to grab his coat from the hallway. When he ran back, he handed the younger his coat and picked up his phone to call Hendery. The latter was at work, so he wasn't sure if he'd answer, but it was worth a shot. Upon gaining no answer, he sighed.

“We need to go and look for him,” said Xiaojun, “he's been acting weird lately, I don't want to risk leaving him to do something stupid.”

Yangyang thought for a moment and tapped the elder as he rushed to the door. Xiaojun turned back to face him.

“What is it?”

“Ten told me something the other day,” he said quietly, looking down at the ground, “Kun... he said Kun killed that person on purpose. It wasn't an accident.”

“What? That's absurd—” said Xiaojun, more of a way to attempt to convince himself than otherwise, “and he knows, but he's had to deal with this by himself.”

Yangyang nodded. Taken aback when the elder grabbed his arm, he was pulled towards the door. Xiaojun didn't even bother to lock the door, he simply continued, hurrying down the stairs as quickly as possible. The younger was behind him, trying to keep up. When they hurried out onto the street, Xiaojun looked around carefully.

“If I was Ten, where would I go?”

Naturally, he began to run in the direction of Namhyeon. Yangyang seemed to notice where he was heading, and shook his head. He had an idea of where Ten had gone. They had talked—well, communicated using their own methods—about more than just Kun. Ten had mentioned how he hadn't visited his aunt's grave since the funeral, and Yangyang had offered to go there with him, but they never agreed to it. He thought he could have potentially went to visit the grave before going to where ever he was intending to go.

Luckily, Yangyang had a brilliant memory. He remembered that Ten mentioned a bridge and a river running alongside the graveyard. There were certainly many graveyards in the area, but only one had a river. He still followed Xiaojun, running after him while ignoring his tiredness. They had to find Ten, and quickly. Yangyang himself didn't really know much about him, but it was obvious to him that Xiaojun was expecting something serious to happen.

When the guarded and blockaded Namhyeon came into view, the elder came to a stop. Breathing heavily, he looked over the road. He was about to run when his arm was grabbed and Yangyang pulled him further down the sidewalk.

"What are you doing? He could be there!" Xiaojun shouted.

The younger shook his head, continuing to run. There was no way that Ten could sneak past _that_ many police officers. Even if he did, he was almost certain he wouldn't be able to get inside with people inside investigating and emptying the building. Xiaojun was trying to get out of Yangyang's surprisingly strong grip, being dragged rather relentlessly. He was trying his hardest not to fall, paying very minimal attention to his surroundings. He eventually managed to tear the younger's hand away from him and stop running.

"What was that about?" the elder exclaimed, "Don't you want to find him? This is serious!"

Ignoring him, Yangyang ran across the road. Xiaojun's heart dropped as he dodged a car and began to run further away on the other side of the road. Sighing, he followed after him. He didn't know what had gotten into him.

"Yangyang! Stop!"

Xiaojun turned, looking over the wall that ran alongside the wall. It was a graveyard. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking back forward to see the younger run inside of the graveyard and continue down the center path, looking around as though he was _searching_ for somebody. He had no idea why Ten would go there, if Yangyang really was looking for him. He saw the latter come to a stop and frown. He looked around again.

"Don't do that!" Xiaojun huffed, trying to regain his breath, "That was dangerous! Hendery will be—"

Yangyang soon disappeared from beside him. The elder ran after him, at first annoyed, but then he saw a very familiar male in the distance, sat looking down at a river from the bridge wall. When they eventually caught Ten's attention, the eldest looked over to them. He quickly wiped his eyes and tried to hold in his tears. He stood up from the wall, shaking, and was about to speak when Yangyang quickly hugged him.

"D-Don't," the younger stammered quietly.

Xiaojun slowed down. He never expected that the two would bond, especially because Yangyang refused to speak to anybody but him and Hendery. He stood aside, watching quietly. He didn't want to interrupt as Ten burst into tears in the youngest's arms. He looked over to the elder's bag beside the wall and slowly walked over. His eyes widened as his eyes averted to the spilled pill bottle on the ground. He leaned down, picked it up, and looked at the remaining ones.

"How many did you take?"

Ten looked up, and Yangyang let go of him. Stepping back, he looked at the elder in concern.

"I-I don't know..." he replied, "I just... I can't take it."

Xiaojun walked over to him and sat him down on the ground. He then called an ambulance as Yangyang sat beside Ten. He was trying to stay as calm as possible, but inside, he was freaking out. He knew what he and Hendery were getting themselves into when they offered to have him stay with them, but he never expected _that._ He messaged both Taeil and Hendery once he managed to get off of the call with the hospital.

"I'm sorry—"

"You have nothing to apologize for," said Xiaojun, "I just wish that you'd have talked to us. We thought you wanted space. But, ignore that for now. How are you feeling?"

"Horrible."

The younger nodded, reaching out for his arm. He checked Ten's pulse and looked up in concern as he tried to dry his eyes. "Any headache? How is your breathing?"

"A bad headache," the elder replied, "I feel a little nauseous and breathless, but it isn't too bad."

"Do you know how long it's been?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

Yangyang hugged Ten again, making Xiaojun smile gently. He was relieved that they seemed to be getting along well, even if he hated that they had to having that moment.

**~**

Doyoung knew something wasn't right when he woke up. He wasn't normally so warm in the morning, nor could he normally feel the gentle breath of another person tickling the back of his neck. More so, he never—not even once in his life—woke up with somebody's arms wrapped around his waist. His eyes shot open and he fought his way out of Jaehyun's grasp, practically stumbling away from the bed. The process, obviously, woke the elder up, making him squint as the sunlight shone through the window. Doyoung scowled, looking down to see he was missing a shirt.

"What did you do?" he shouted.

He was told to be quiet, mostly because Jaehyun was deafened by his shouting, but he also seemed to forget that his mother was only either down the hallway or downstairs. The elder looked at himself under the covers and shrugged.

"You tell me."

"We had _rules._ You stay at your side of the bed, nothing weird and no exceptions!"

"I haven't done anything!" the elder exclaimed, "What do you take me for?"

"You still broke the rules!"

Jaehyun massaged his temples in frustration. "Well, I apologize, but I didn't do anything—"

"What? Why did you stop?" asked Doyoung, "Tell me you didn't do anything!"

"Doie—"

"Don't call me that, for the _last_ time!"

The elder ended up grinning and Doyoung sighed. The former sat up, making the teen look away as more skin than what he deemed was appropriate was in view. "It's not what you're thinking."

"I'm not thinking it is anything!"

"Yes, you are," said Jaehyun, "or you wouldn't be acting like that. But you really can't remember?"

The younger shook his head.

"I'm offended. You weren't even drunk, you're just trying to forget it. But you started it anyway."

"Don't tell such obvious lies."

"You even called me Jae."

Doyoung did _not_ like the fact that it didn't seem so far-fetched, as he'd accidentally called him that before. He still refused to turn around, however.

"Are you being completely honest with me, or are you tricking me?"

"I'm being honest!" the elder exclaimed, "Do you see me as a liar?"

The hesitation on Doyoung's behalf offended him.

"Doie!" he complained.

"Don't call me that!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished the chapter with some light humor because that was DARK. I hope that nobody who read section three was triggered by it in any way. Section two was rather short, but it's just a little filler (a rather important one, at that).
> 
> But, any thoughts about the chapter? It was a little bit all over the place (as most chapters in this story are, since all of the characters are currently separated) but this part is almost over! Think of from chapter one to now (and the next few chapters) as part one. But I have a question to ask the readers that will see this. For part two, would you rather I start a new story (and have a series) or just separate part one and two with a chapter that simply says "end of part one"? Either works for me, I just don't make it harder for anybody. Please let me know! I'll have to prepare for it as it's coming up _very_ soon :)
> 
> Also, we surpassed 100,000 words!


	54. Nightmares Of The Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Note: This is set a few days after the last chapter._

**— FLASHBACK —**

_Potentially trigging content._

Taeyong kneeled on the grass, dipping his cupped hands into the water trough. Looking inside, he could see leaves and even dead insects floating around it, but he didn't have any other option. Drinking water out of his hands, he turned around to see the horses grazing in the field, and beyond, the sheep in the next field were also doing the same thing. The dogs had followed him out and were having their morning exercise, chasing each other around the horses who simply looked at them as they tore grass from the ground. Cupping more water into his hands, Taeyong tipped the content onto his head, and several scoops of water later, he ran his fingers through his hair before shaking the excess water off. He briefly washed his face, before finally dipping his hands in one final time and shook the water from his hands.

Hearing the dogs barking at each other, he smiled. Shifting into a crouch, he waited by the fence for them to finish their exercise and return. He would have run after them, but, with the sun hardly over the horizon, he thought it was too early to get too excitable. He looked down at the grass, grabbing a small flower, and placed it on the side of the trough. He saw the dogs running in his direction moved back, giggling to himself as the youngest practically stumbled over him, looping back around through the next field. He continued trying to pick more flowers, wanting to carry them back to the barn to give to his mother later in the day, the border collie sat beside him and began to lick his face. It was as though she was cleaning him, persisting even as he squirmed away.

With all three dogs sitting beside him—after eventually concluding the cleaning session—Taeyong simply looked out at the fields. He was enjoying the gentle morning breeze when his head quickly snapped towards the house, hearing a deep, loud rumble which alerted all of the animals. It was a sound that he had heard before. Grabbing his flowers, he got up, running towards the house. He thought that maybe there was somebody unwelcome on the farm, as the last time he'd heard the sound, his father was scaring off a trespasser. The dogs followed behind him before the border collie took the lead. Taeyong crawled under the fence, suddenly breaking into an even faster scramble as he ran past the barn and to the house door. He wasn't allowed inside the house. Instead, he waited, expecting his mother to come out to reassure him that everything was alright.

But she didn't.

He waited and waited, growing more concerned as the minutes passed. Before long, Taeyong was knocking on the door, pulling at the handle to try and get inside. He was anxious that somebody had gotten inside, with the dogs seeming just as unsettled beside him. At one point, the youngest began to whine, and he tugged at the boy's sleeve, only to be ignored. Moments later, the door burst open, making Taeyong fall from the brick that acted as a makeshift step into the house, consequently dropping the flowers onto the concrete. He brushed the dust from him as he heard a low growl from one of the dogs. He looked up. His father stood looking down at him, a gaze which immediately made the boy freeze. He balled his fists against the ground, his body beginning to tremble as his father stepped towards him.

His arm was roughly grabbed from the ground, forcing him up to his feet. The dogs dispersed around them as his father dragged him toward the barn, Taeyong still too frozen in fear to even make the slightest noise. He almost stumbled, about to fall as his father walked faster. Upon reaching the door, he pushed his son inside. He flinched as his father lifted his hand before he felt contact against his face and fell onto the straw coating the ground, his legs giving way.

"I told you to stay away from the house."

The dogs were all cowering away from him, observing as Taeyong wiped a tear from his face, quietly crying.

"Shut up, you're not a baby. You shouldn't even be here—you can't even talk! Your mother might have let you act like this, but I won't!"

His father grabbed him and pulled him back up, his hand tightly gripping onto his thin arm as Taeyong clenched his eyes shut, looking away from him. Seeing the reaction, his father let go of him and once the boy fell to his knees, he kicked him over, continuing to do so when he tried to shield himself. The dogs began to bark, the eldest hurrying over when Taeyong began to cry loudly and growled at the father. He immediately looked over to the dog, scowling, and just as he raised his hand towards the dog, he felt a hit on his leg. His son continued to hit him weakly, his entire body trembling profusely as he knelt on the ground.

"No!" the boy shouted, "Stop!"

"This is all your fault! You should have never been born!"

The words made the boy frown. The words seemed to echo in his mind, refusing to leave him alone. As his father got down onto the ground, Taeyong shuffled away. The boy's wrist was grabbed as he pulled him back. He mocked him, roughly grasping onto his son's hair, forcing him to look him dead in the eyes.

"You're worthless. Remember that. I'll deal with you tomorrow, we'll bury you beside your mother in a nice, deep ditch so nobody will find you. If you'd have just died already, or you'd have been a good boy and listened to me like you should have, she'd still be here. It's your fault I had to kill her."

He let go and stood up. His father kicked him away, sneered, and turned to leave the barn. Once he left, Taeyong immediately stood up, running to pull the door closed completely before heading behind the hay bales. It was where he felt safe. Lying down on the ground, he covered his mouth in an attempt to muffle his cries as he dogs ran over to him. His entire body ached. He wiped away his tears and felt relieved as the dogs lay around him. He shuffled towards the border collie, burying his face in her fur as the youngest dog rested his head on the boy's legs and the last dog lay behind him.

**~**

Taeyong woke up abruptly, sitting up from the bed sweating profusely as his heart thumped uncontrollably. He quickly rolled up his sleeves, looking at his arms to see them free from bruises or injury. He backed up, leaning against the headboard and stared down at the bed. Even as he tried to calm himself down, he felt completely devoid of air—unable to stop himself from almost gasping harshly. He gathered it was a dream, but it felt _too_ real. He even awoke teary-eyed, and the tears immediately began streaming through his acknowledgement. He pulled his legs up to his body, hugging them tightly.

Mark was already beginning to wake up, but hearing quiet crying, he immediately looked up, half asleep, and turned to check whether Taeyong was awake. Seeing the elder in such a state, he hurried over to the bed, sitting beside him. He quickly engulfed him in a hug, his hand softly running down the back of the patient's head.

"It's alright, I'm here," he muttered, "what's wrong?"

Taeyong stayed quiet but instead moved so he could hug the younger tighter. Mark didn't know what was happening, but he could feel the patient's chest rising and falling abnormally fast. Taeyong was clinging onto him as though they'd be torn apart at any moment.

It took a while for him to calm down, and Mark's back was beginning to ache from sitting so awkwardly for so long. Taeyong's face was practically buried into the crook of the younger's neck, and the latter brushed through his hair with his fingers soothingly. He didn't exactly know why the elder enjoyed it so much, but he assumed it was a comfort that he'd had in the past.

"Are you ready to talk?" he asked in anticipation.

Taeyong remained silent, but Mark could still feel his soft breath against his neck, and while the elder _was_ shaking, he was unsure of whether it was just his usual tremor or if he was still returning to normal. The teen waited quietly.

"I remembered something," the patient replied sheepishly, his voice muffled, "the day my mother was killed."

Mark looked down, sighing gently. He didn't even know how to respond. He felt the elder gulp and reassuringly stroked the back of his head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"T-There was a gunshot," he said suddenly, "I thought there was an intruder, it had happened before. But when my father came outside..."

"What happened?"

He felt the elder tense and frowned. He knew it must have been tough to talk about. Taeyong turned his head, resting it on the teen's shoulder. "He hit and kicked me, telling me that I shouldn't have been born."

"He's horrible. Try not to think about it, okay? You're safe now," said Mark, kissing the elder's head gently.

"I-I think I was next, but the police—" Taeyong suddenly fell quiet, tightly wrapping his arms around the younger.

The teen felt the patient's tears drop onto his shoulder and pulled his head up, making eye contact with him for a moment as Taeyong clenched his eyes shut. Mark felt his heart shatter into millions of tiny pieces, his eyes softening as he wiped the elder's tears away.

"I could have met my mother if he—"

"Don't, Taeyong. Don't think about that."

"He should've killed me, I should be dead."

Mark quickly pulled the elder into a hug. "Don't say that. What if he did? We wouldn't have met, you wouldn't have seen Seulgi again and you wouldn't have had so many experiences."

"Just _look_ at me," the patient sniffled, squirming out of the teen's grasp, "I _should_ have died. If I did, I wouldn't be like this!"

"Taeyong, calm down—"

"Everybody wants me dead!"

Mark grabbed Taeyong's hand, trying to get his attention, but the elder immediately ripped his hand away. He shuffled over to the end of the bed. He was about to leave the room when he lost balance and fell onto the floor, slamming his clenched fists against the ground as he gave in. The teen hurried beside him, trying to pull Taeyong up from the ground.

He knew the elder was keeping everything inside, but he let down his protective barrier, revealing his vulnerable and struggling side. Unable to force him up from the ground, Mark wrapped his arm around the patient. Seeing him in such a state was tearing _him_ apart. He even felt an urge to cry himself but pushed it away.

**~**

"How long is it now?" asked Ten, running his finger along the tube attached to his arm.

"A few minutes less from when you last asked," Hendery replied.

He'd been sent to stay with the elder while Xiaojun went to watch the court hearing. Yangyang was sat on a seat beside the hospital bed, completely consumed by his drawing as Ten consistently asked how long it would be until the hearing begun, every few minutes.

"Are you nervous?" asked Hendery.

"Of course," the elder replied, "even after I found out, I can't help but wish that he won't be punished too harshly."

"I suppose that makes sense, you _are_ dating, even if he's quite different now."

"And he was still there for me when my left was completely turned upside down. I feel like I owe it to him to do the same thing for him."

Yangyang shook his head, catching both of the others' attention.

"I think he's saying you don't owe anything to him."

He nodded.

Ten smiled gently. "Well, either way, I might be bitchy at times, but I'm not going to abandon my boyfriend. That's not how I roll."

"Well, it's your choice. I understand though, as his friend. I don't _want_ him to be locked away, but it isn't up to us," Hendery replied.

"I just hope they at least let me see him once before he goes wherever they send him."

He _had_ messed up the first chance, after all. But how was he to know? His mind was surrounded in a thick fog which he couldn't break through. It was eating away at his thoughts, sabotaging every slight positivity. As Ten had left the apartment, he broke out into a sprint and headed straight to the graveyard, apologized to his aunt's tomb and all else was a faded history. He felt as though he'd blacked out. He snapped out of it when he'd heard Xiaojun's shouting, and it all sunk in when his eyes landed on the spilt pill bottle on the ground.

He wanted to see Kun at least once. They needed to talk. Ten wanted to tell him that he'd wait for him to be released and that they could forget everything that that happened and live normally, but he couldn't. He didn't know if he could just move on. If he were to be honest, he didn't know if he could love the Kun who had presented himself. He was beginning to _fear_ him. That wasn't a relationship he was prepared to endure.

**~**

Mark had lost track of time, sitting on the ground with Taeyong lying asleep with his head on his lap, even though there was a perfectly comfortable and usable bed behind them. He'd heard Sunghoon and Eunjung walk past the door a few times, seemingly wondering whether or not they were awake, but not much was going on. He was sure he'd fallen asleep at some point too and awoke rather confused as to where he was.

There was a knock on the door, and before Mark could even respond, the door opened and Eunjung peeked in. She looked uneasy. Her eyes averted down to Taeyong on the ground and she forced a smile. "Something's happened."

"What?" asked the teen, immediately beginning to worry.

"The police are searching the area. One came to the door area and asked whether we'd seen you—they had photos and everything."

At the onset of panic, Mark shook Taeyong awake, leaving the elder rather puzzled as he opened his eyes.

"I hate to say this, I really do, but you'll have to leave. We can't risk being caught harbouring a fugitive."

The patient's eyes widened as he sat up. "Leave?"

"I'm sorry," said Eunjung, "I wish we didn't have to do this."

"It's alright, you let us stay here up until now," said Mark, "thank you, it really means a lot."

Taeyong looked more confused than anything as the teen stood up, hurrying to grab his bag.

"I'll prepare you some food to take, it won't be much, but it'll at least last a day or two while you find somewhere to go. Maybe Seulgi can help you, you should call her once you find a phone—they might be back to track our calls."

Mark grabbed their things and, once Eunjung returned, placed the bag of food into his backpack and swung it onto his back. As Taeyong was getting up with the aid of the bed, he hurried over to help him stand and took one last look across the room.

"Well, I guess this is it," he said, seeing Sunghoon and Eunjung stood by the door.

As he looked away for a moment, Taeyong disappeared from beside him, looking around for Willow. He eventually found her in the kitchen.

"Thank you again, really," said Mark, "I wasn't sure if we'd find anybody we could trust after all of this, but it's relieving that we could."

"It's nothing," said Sunghoon. "You know, not everyone is harsh in this world. It may feel like it now, but people can be kind."

Eunjung hugged the teen. If it was up to her, she'd have let them stay longer. But if reality, they knew the consequences.

In the kitchen, Taeyong's eyes averted to the utensil drawer as he stroked Willow. He looked back, seeing the others preoccupied and stood up. Edging over, he looked inside and quietly pulled a sharp knife from underneath the other pieces of silverware. He closed the drawer, and upon hearing movement, he hid it in his hoodie pocket and returned to Willow, hugging the dog as she tried to lick him. He chuckled. She reminded him of one of his old dogs, though their names had been one of the things that had completely slipped his mind. He heard Mark laugh behind him and turned around, his arms slipping from around Willow.

"Should we go?"

Taeyong nodded. They couldn't risk being caught. He gripped tightly onto the knife's handle in his pocket and carefully walked over to Mark's side.

"Before you go," said Eunjung, holding her arms out, "come here."

Hesitantly, the patient hugged her. He was being careful to keep the knife as far away from her as possible.

"Be careful," she said, "take it slowly, don't injure yourself and make sure you tell Mark if any of your symptoms change or new ones arise."

"I will."

"Go on, you better go. Before I change my mind."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we're here already! The next chapter, if all goes well, will be the last for part one! I've created a series for this, part two and a story for special chapters. Be sure to check the series (bookmark it if you'd like to!) for the first chapter of part two once it's posted.
> 
> Also, about the special chapters, if you'd like to request anything, that'd be great! Either comment on here or if you visit my Twitter (drgnyong), I have a curiouscat in my pinned that you could comment requests on (it's anonymous).


	55. To Take A Life (Part One Finale)

Walking along the roadside once again, Mark made sure that Taeyong was close behind him consistently. The elder had occasionally paused, which the teen assumed was down to him being a little shaken up about the earlier events of the day. He just wanted to hug him, protect him from the world, and find somewhere quiet to live away from everybody. He looked back to see Taeyong looking down at his pocket. He furrowed his eyebrows and halted in his tracks.

"Are you alright?"

The patient's head jolted up in surprise. "I'm fine."

"Really? Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

Mark held out his hand. Taeyong hesitantly clutched his grip around the handle in his pocket, walking towards the younger. The teen held onto his hand, looking up to smile at him. The elder, however, encountered a minor problem. As he faced head-on, he couldn't _actually_ see Mark. Even if he turned, he could hardly see him. He wasn't missing anything significant, but it made him feel uneasy. He looked down at the road, pushing back the feeling that was lingering in his mind. He gripped the teen's hand tighter as they began to walk.

"I think our biggest priority should be to call Seulgi. She might be able to help us."

Taeyong only hummed in response. He was too trapped in his thoughts to even acknowledge the younger, battling with what seemed to be an impossible dark fog to reason with. He felt as though his world fell silent. Even though he was still walking, looking down at the gravel road, he was hardly present at that moment. Even though _physically_ he was, he was emotionally absent. Instead, it felt as though he was nowhere at all. It was an odd feeling to comprehend, but it took a rather concerned shake from Mark to bring him back—to tear him from that darkness.

"Taeyong," said the teen, restlessly turning around. "Can you hear me? I was talking, but you didn't reply or anything."

The elder's eyes were wide as he looked at Mark. He hadn't heard anything. He was just absently staring at the younger when he felt two hands on either side of his face, bringing him back once again.

"You're scaring me... what's happening?"

"Nothing—"

"Taeyong, don't lie to me. _Please."_

The elder's gaze fell to the ground once again. Mark's hands slipped away from his face, one returning to the patient's hand. "I'm just thinking."

"Good thoughts?" asked the teen, his tone faltering as he looked at Taeyong's very much frowning face, "No?"

"Can we just continue walking?"

At that moment, the elder's hand slipped out of Mark's. He began to walk ahead, avoiding talking about just what was going on in his head as though his life depended on it. The younger caught up. He didn't want to _force_ an answer from the patient, so just settled for his hesitance. He'd probably get an explanation once they'd found somewhere safe. He watched as Taeyong walked. While he wasn't a complete genius, especially when it came to behavior, he knew that something wasn't right. He wasn't particularly surprised, either.

He couldn't even imagine what was going on in Taeyong's mind. While he stayed a few steps behind, Mark was still making sure to observe the elder as closely as possible. While he trusted that he'd tell him if something was bothering him, he was still worried.

**~**

"The defendant Qian Kun will be sentenced to a total of twelve years imprisonment!"

Xiaojun sighed in the crowd. Twelve years was somewhat better than he imagined, but it was still a while to be away. They had unsuccessfully argued that the murder wasn't _completely_ his fault, trying to push aside the blame onto a "crime of passion" to reduce the charge to voluntary manslaughter. It was—obviously—a bluff, as the crime was premeditated. Kun _did_ take the knife with him, after all.

Xiaojun wasn't sure how Ten would react. He was already overwhelmed, but with the additional weight of Kun's twelve-year sentence, he wasn't sure how he would take it. They were still together, anyway, even if they had been separated during the investigation.

He made eye contact with Kun momentarily. The elder looked away, a small smirk appearing on his face. The courtroom was beginning to empty, with people draining out of the door. Some seemed satisfied with the result, but most of them appeared rather indifferent. Xiaojun stood up, making his way over to where his friend was forced to his feet, the handcuffs gripping his wrists colliding with the desk as he was harshly pulled up.

"Wait," said Xiaojun hesitantly, "can I talk to him for a moment?"

The officer scowled. "Make it quick, there's a nice cold cell waiting for him."

Kun looked at the officer—completely unamused—and shifted where he was stood. His eyes soon found their way back to the younger in front of him.

"Are you proud of yourself?" asked Xiaojun bitterly, "You've created quite the situation back home."

"Proud isn't the word I'd used. Regretful? No. Exciting, actually."

"Ten attempted suicide."

Kun's face immediately dropped. He gawked at his friend, looking down at the ground.

"He's in hospital. You've really left your mark on him, I'm surprised he didn't tell me to relay a break-up message," said the younger, "he overdosed on his antidepressants, he'll probably be admitted to the facility that the others have gone to."

"And... it's my fault?"

"You added stress to what was already eating away at his mental state—this entire thing, being taken away from Namhyeon, being separated from you and this whole court business. He told us what you said to him."

The officer began to pull the elder away, only for Kun to resist against it.

"Can you look after him until I'm released?"

"Twelve years is a long time," Xiaojun sighed, "but I'll be there for him while you fail to."

**~**

Mark wasn't sure when it had started raining. Perhaps it had been an hour or two, maybe more. The path had hardly changed. Their only surroundings were trees, bushes, and even _more_ trees. Every now and again, they'd have a moment of sunshine as the light broke through cracks in the thick, grey clouds. They were both drenched. Droplets of water ran down Taeyong's face as they stood underneath a tree for shelter, prompting the younger to wipe them away.

The air around them was damp. The scent of the great pine trees which encompassed them, accompanied by the earthy scent of petrichor, lingered in the air. After a while of standing waiting for the rain to subside, the patient sunk onto the ground, sitting among dead leaves and broken twigs. The teen could only kneel in front of him—not wishing to be covered in the forest floor—gently smiling.

Taeyong smiled back, though it was obvious that it was forced. He pushed his wet hair back from his forehead and let out a soft sigh. "You should have just stayed with Doyoung."

"Why would I have done that?" Mark questioned, "I love you, Taeyong. I'm going to be by your side until we're both old and rotting somewhere that we end up."

"You ruined that with the mention of rotting."

"But I mean my point. We'll stick together through all of this, even if it means being drowned in rain."

Taeyong chuckled. "I like the rain. It's just a little bit uncomfortable to sit in wet clothes."

"Well, wet clothes are better than none at all."

"They are," the elder laughed.

"But, why would you think I'd have been better staying with Doyoung?"

"It's just... the police are after _me,_ not you. All of this running and hiding must be weird for you."

Mark shook his head. "Not really. I mean—don't get me wrong—I've never been hunted down by the police before. But we've both run away. It's not as though you kidnapped me."

"They probably think I did."

"Well, they can think what they like, but we know the truth."

"I can just imagine that they're probably making up stories about me murdering you."

"A long time ago, I'd have thought the same thing."

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows, looking under his hood which was progressively getting heavier with the water. "You did?"

"When they locked us in your room together."

"Oh, right."

"But it's alright."

"What is? Me murdering you?"

"No, it's alright, I don't think you could kill me anymore."

The elder smiled. "I mean, I probably _could._ But I'm not going to."

"Thank you?"

Taeyong leaned forward, gently kissing Mark on the lips. "You're welcome."

The latter laughed to himself. The elder's inability to understand when he was being serious was, in a way, cute. Taeyong's endearing, affectionate side was far better than the cold, rather intimidating first impression that the teen had of him. Even if he had potentially saved his life, stalking the hallways, showing off his kill, and literally _threatening_ his friends was not quite the best way for them to meet. Regardless, Mark still found the instinctual, almost animalistic behavior that had remained in the elder rather intriguing.

The teen snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing a shuffling noise. He looked up as Taeyong's arms found their way around his waist, the elder kneeling on the ground in front of him to allow them to be closer. He nuzzled his face into Mark's neck, taking the younger aback, but he still smiled gently. The teen placed his arms around the patient's shoulders.

"You're being very touchy today," he pointed out, grinning as the elder's arms tightened around him.

"Because you're warm and calming. I don't want to waste any time we have together."

Mark looked out at the road. The rain was still beating down onto the gravel surface, leaving behind large pools of stagnant water. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the discomfort that the weather was providing.

"Do you think we should start moving soon?"

The teen hummed in response. He didn't _want_ to just sit in the rain all day, but he could feel Taeyong's heart gently beating and his thoughts were lost in what felt like a whirlwind of happiness. They were together—albeit in rather unsatisfactory conditions—and there was nobody in the way of their affection. In the elder's embrace, he felt as though he was falling further and further in love with him as the days had passed.

"Mark, I think we should move," said Taeyong.

Sensing the urgency in the patient's voice, Mark opened his eyes. He followed the latter's gaze into the distance where a car's foglights were gleaming onward. Somebody was approaching. He quickly stood up, ignoring the patches of dirt that had welcomed themselves onto his jeans from kneeling on the ground and grabbed Taeyong's hand. The elder stood up afterward, nervously looking back as the teen began to pull him further into the dense woodland.

They broke into a sprint, crunching the fallen branches and leaves under their step. There was no time to be wary. While the approaching vehicle may _not_ have been an imminent threat, anybody could easily give up their location. Taeyong slipped, his attempts futile to keep himself up as he landed one-handed in thick, opaque mud. Mark had to pull him up. The younger looked back as they continued running, quickly scanning the area. He could still see the lights through the breaks in the trees. Whoever it was, they were driving exceptionally slowly.

Taeyong's heart was racing uncontrollably. Feet pounding against the uneven ground, his body felt heavy as they progressed deeper and deeper into the sea of trees. He felt enclosed by a strong sense of danger. Adrenaline pushed both him and Mark ahead. The younger's fidgety behavior and nervous glances weren't helping at all. In the panic, neither of them had noticed how the woodland opened up, joining another road. The teen turned as they reached an opening, his eyes widening as he caught a glance of a car. With headlights beaming into their faces, Taeyong covered his eyes, stumbling forward onto the road.

Mark pulled him up as a lone police officer stepped out of his car, a radio clenched in one hand. The officer looked as uneasy as they were. "Both of you, on the floor. Now."

The couple made eye contact. They most certainly were _not_ going to give up that easily. The teen grabbed the elder's wrist, quickly hurrying in the opposing direction to the officer. They ignored his shouting, continuing onward without hesitation. Though exhausted, Taeyong turned to Mark and smiled as quick, heavy breaths escaped through his lips. As the teen smiled back, the elder turned around to look at the officer. His smile immediately faded. Gripping onto Mark with his free hand, he pulled him in front of him.

A startling snap echoed through the surrounding area. The younger felt Taeyong pull at his arm as his hearing seemed to fade for a moment. Birds had quickly flown away, plunged into terror at the abrupt noise. Mark looked back as the patient's hand loosened on him and he slipped onto the ground. Taeyong managed to buffer his fall, casting his arms out just in time. He turned around, feeling numbness in his leg. Allowing himself to sit on the wet gravel, he drew a harsh breath as he saw blood drip onto the floor, his leg already gushing with the substance. He had been shot. He was hit by a sudden wave of pain and clenched his eyes shut. Mark, on the other hand, looked over to the officer, furious as he saw the man drop his gun onto the floor, possibly in shock of his own action.

"Taeyong—"

"I'm okay," he assured, "it's fine."

"It isn't fine!"

The elder looked up, his jaw clenched as he inhaled shakily. He turned around. Mark reached out for Taeyong as he struggled to stand up, his gaze fixed on the man. The teen's hand froze mid-air. Those cold, ruthless eyes. The elder stumbled to his feet, dragging himself along the road. Mark didn't know what to do. He didn't want to oppose whatever the patient was doing and argue right there. So, he let him leave. He stood gawking as he looked through the misty rain, being drenched further as he watched the trail blood grow longer in every step.

Taeyong stepped closer, dragging his injured leg. He could hear a siren growing near, but it didn't matter. The officer was quivering where he stood, an uneasy gaze following the patient in front of him. Taeyong's mind was completely blank. One sole thought circled in his mind, one which wouldn't leave untended to; an urge so strong that he just _couldn't_ ignore. He was still in agony. The pain didn't just disappear, but if he set his mind to something, he would do it. No matter what the outcome would be. He'd felt far more excruciating pain before anyway.

"Hand yourself over. Y-You're just a worthless criminal!"

Well, that _certainly_ didn't settle nicely. Taeyong pursed his lips into a line, stuffing his clenched fist into his pocket. He looked back at Mark to see the teen staring in his direction. A shaky sigh slipped out from his lips as he pulled out the knife. The officer immediately began to panic, his breathing heavy as he backed up against the car. Hurrying closer, the patient could hear Mark shouting at him. But he grabbed the officer, thrust the blade into his abdomen, and scowled. Pushing the knife further with a turning motion, the older man let out a cry, his hand rising to grab the weapon. It was torn from his body with a hasty movement.

"Worthless?"

The officer was met by an unbearable affliction; a feeling only distinguishable as tearing up his insides as blood poured from his wound. Taeyong wasn't quite a formidable opponent—given his rather thin and fragile stature—especially against a trained officer, but the fear that most who'd only known of his past and criminal acts held had a tendency of being paralyzing. The look of horror on the officer's ashen face was enough to push the patient to continue. The blade pierced through the officer's flesh a second time. A thrilling rush of adrenaline surged through Taeyong's body, making it almost impossible to not strike a third, fourth, and eventually, a seventh time as the man writhed in agony, his body curling as the patient stood back.

The former's knees collided with the ground with a gentle thud, the pool of blood surrounding him growing as he attempted to stop further anguish. His mouth hung slack as he took in shallow breaths. Taeyong looked back at his leg, his pain growing as he grabbed the officer, pushing his head back. Blood trickled from the older man's mouth, coughing weakly as his eyes darted to the patient.

"Who's worthless now?" he spat.

The blade found it's way to the officer's neck, to which his eyes immediately widened and he grasped onto Taeyong's arm. He forced in a breath as the knife penetrated the top layer of skin. Blood began to seep from the wound, hardly significant in amount in comparison to what was already coating the ground. The officer could relax for a moment as they both heard Mark scramble over in their direction. Through the excitement, the patient hadn't even noticed that the sirens had fallen silent. The younger of the couple looked horrified, pausing in his tracks as he saw the scene before him. His eyes averted to Taeyong.

"There's another car," he warned.

The patient gritted his teeth as the officer began to call for help. It was pitiful. His voice was hardly audible, even at such a close distance. Taeyong roughly grabbed the older man's face, forcing his head up as he returned the blade to his neck. He briskly dragged the knife along, forcing Mark to look away as blood gushed out of the wound. The teen felt sick. He didn't know how the elder could do such a thing without hesitation. Hissing at the pain as he stood up, Taeyong grabbed Mark by his sleeve. With the rain still mercilessly assaulting them, they turned to see Taeil getting out of the car.

The elder ran over, analyzing the patient's state before he turned to see the officer laying lifeless among the blood. He covered his mouth in horror, facing them once again. Taeyong dropped the blood-smothered knife onto the ground, his eyes staring straight into Taeil's soul as he stepped back. "Taeyong—"

"Save it."

Taeil frowned. All the work they had put into teaching him how to behave correctly, the hours of disciplining and reminding Taeyong repeatedly what their rules were—they'd all gone to waste. Mark looked shaken. The patient wiped his bloody hands as the teen put his arm around him, helping him stand.

"It won't happen again."

"This isn't the kind of thing you can just apologize and move on from!"

Taeyong hummed, trying to push away the pain he was feeling. Speaking seemed to make it even more unbearable. "Do you want us to suffer at the hands of more of _those_ people?"

"No—"

"Then turn away and tell the police that you lost us."

"You killed somebody!"

"And I've told you I won't do it again."

Looking back at the car, Taeil began to panic. Detective Kim was already calling for backup upon hearing the gunshot. He gulped, looking down at the patient's wounded leg and back to the body. His heart was beating uncontrollably. He clenched his eyes shut, exhaling. "Go. Wait for the excitement to die down, I'll ask Seulgi to tend to the wound later. Just, hang on."

Mark promptly began to pull the elder away, worried that the detective would have other plans. Taeyong took one last look at the body before deciding to walk away. He could feel the ten's hand tremble in his grasp, and it brought a frown to his face. He wondered if the younger would be angry about the police officer. Taeil certainly seemed to be, but then, he _always_ got angry about such things. Taeyong didn't quite understand the fuss. He'd grown up around death and suffering, it felt abnormal for everything to be happy and peaceful.

Detective Kim walked over to Taeil as they walked away. He had a look of disbelief and looked away from the body, drawing a deep breath. "You're letting them go?"

"I don't know if it's a good idea or not," the elder sighed, "but I can't be the one to ruin what they have."

"We can't do this. He killed an innocent officer!"

Taeil grabbed the detective as he tried to follow after the couple, surprising him with his strength.

"Have you forgotten my job?"

"You care about him!"

"I can't just let a criminal go free, I'll lose my job if they find out!"

Gritting his teeth, the younger let go. He'd also be punished for preventing him from leaving. Detective Kim fixed his suit and walked over to the officer's body, taking the radio from where it had landed beside him. He tried to turn it on but found it broken. He threw it back down and turned around. 

"Search the area. They can't have gotten too far."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, part one is done! I didn't expect this story to gain as much attention as it did, so thank you all for reading! I've always thought "stick to the popular tropes/plots" as that's what people know and love, but straying from the norm has been far more rewarding. I love the little readerbase (that isn't a word) that the story has gained. Sure, it isn't the most popular fic out there—nor the best—but I'm proud of where it has gone. This is probably too deep of a closing note for a fanfic, but this is the first work that I've loved writing throughout. I'm hoping part two can be even better!
> 
> For the sake of making the change from this part to part two easy, I've posted the first chapter of part two already.  
> 


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